the space between us
by KokoLockhart
Summary: it's just you and me. we can run a hundred miles together and never get tired. it's probably how i fell in love with you. — a collection of sonamy drabbles/one-shots.
1. Cables

_001\. Cables_

 _._

 _._

 _._

"Are you kidding me?!"

Her internet was acting up again.

It was the fifth time it had happened that day and Amy was getting fed up. She had a lot of patience but when deadlines were to be met on the next day, nothing mattered anymore than getting those papers done and dusted.

She tried fixing the cables on her own. It worked... _for a while_. The pink hedgehog had no experience when it came to engineering so the cords were just a tangled mess. She'd rather not risk getting a shock if she played around with them even more.

Rummaging through her things to get to her phone, she called up the electrical company that she was with and booked an appointment for the next hour. Amy let out a longing sigh as she leaned back into her computer chair, calming herself down.

 _All this stress will be over soon, Amy._

She gave herself some motivational prep talk up until the shrill tone of the door bell echoed through her apartment.

 _Oh good, they're here!_ Amy moved to the entrance, noticing the blue spiky hair that she could see through the glass silhouette. _Must be a hedgehog_. She opened the door and her eyes shot up in surprise at the man who stood on her doorstep.

Amy never really believed in love at first sight. She found it to be a fantasy, something that could only ever exist in fictional novels. However, she did believe that being absolutely blown away by a person at first glance was real. Amy had to admit, he was handsome. Actually no, scratch that. He was downright _gorgeous_. Was it possible for a man to look so attractive in work uniform? He was only wearing a dark blue jumpsuit, the collar part of it hugging his neck so perfectly. His shoes were black boots, the bottom of his uniform tucked into them. A tool kit accompanied one of his hands and Amy couldn't help but note the strain on his arms that were prominent to his muscles.

Chaos, and his _hair_. His pretty blue hair. She was fawning over it and there was already that tingling urge to bury her hands in it.

She really shouldn't be staring like this...

"Hey, the name's Sonic!" he gave her a toothy grin, "I'm the electrician you called for earlier."

"O-Oh," Amy blundered, already feeling her legs going jelly. She shouldn't have stared. That was so rude of her. "Of course! Please come in." She stepped away to the side as she let him in and closed the door.

"So what seems to be the problem?" Sonic asked as he followed her into the living room.

"My internet keeps cutting out every thirty minutes or so," Amy explained as she motioned the nestled cables surrounding her internet box, "I've tried using the trouble shooting instructions but nothing seems to work."

"Oh, then it's probably something to do with the wiring," Sonic said as he laid his tool kit onto the ground, "Just give me a few minutes and it should be good to go again!"

"Okay," Amy nodded and took a step back, giving Sonic enough room to work. Seeing how busy he had become and how unnecessary it was to stand around, she decided to retreat into the kitchen. Because obviously, she was just going to stare at Sonic for the whole time and if he had caught her doing that, explaining herself would be life or death.

She braced herself against a chair and stared at her shaking hands. Why were they shaking? Wanting to calm herself, she gripped onto the chair tighter. It wasn't suppose to be that hot today was it? For one, her heater wasn't even on and the air conditioner hadn't been used for months. Chaos, the temperature was suppose to be normal all day, a quick breeze with a little sunshine here and there.

So why she did feel like a steaming hot potato?

Amy peaked back into the room just in time to see Sonic stand up, looking over his work from a distance. He glanced over his green irises to her and smiled, waving her to come over.

"All done and it should be working perfectly fine now!" he grinned at her again and Amy's heart was practically pounding out of her chest.

 _You don't even know him, Amy. Stop!_

 _Oh come on, he's freaking hot!_ Another voice spoke out to her. _Future boyfriend alert_.

Amy promptly squished down those horrendous thoughts. "Great..."

"The company will call you up later and bill you the costs," Sonic heaved his tool kit up, rolling it over his shoulders, "It won't be too much though considering it was just a faulty wire."

"Th-Thank you, Sonic," she smiled, her cheeks tinting pink.

"No problem!" he scratched the back of his head, "Uh, sorry. I didn't quite catch your name...?"

She blinked before spluttering out her words. "A-Amy! Amy Rose..."

"Well, Miss Rose, thanks for the business!" he winked at her before stepping outside, "Have a nice day!"'

Giving a hesitant wave back, Amy watched him go down the steps and walk into his car. She slammed the door shut and suddenly collapsed against it, her heart skipping a few beats.

He _winked_ at her!

...

The following week, Amy tried her ever so best to study for her classes but she couldn't get the electrician out of her mind. She wished she gave Sonic some of her contact details before he went out. But that would've been weird, right? Giving a really cute stranger her phone number. Even if she tried, the big blush on her face would prevent her from doing so.

The mere thought of finding a way to contact the blue hedgehog made her redden. She couldn't just call up the electrical company and ask for one of their employee's contact details. God no. That was borderline stalker behaviour right there. And if Sonic knew of that, her chances would dim and then the whole world would know and her getting into a relationship would _never_ happen.

That only left one solution.

Have another electrical problem.

As stupid as it sounded, there was no other way. If she wanted to see Sonic again, then she had to somehow purposely sabotage the wiring of her internet again. Or maybe a lightbulb. Yeah that would work.

She wasn't made out of money after all, so she didn't want the wreck to be too serious. Repairs like these _weren't_ cheap.

Amy was still contemplating whether to call the company but when Sonic's beautiful green jaded eyes filled her mind, she hastily grabbed her phone and dialled the number.

 _"Hello, Station Square Electrical. How may we be of help?"_

"Um," she bit her lip, "I-I'm calling about a problem to do with my light."

 _"Of course. What kind of light bulbs do you own?"_

"Well, I'm not sure," she gulped down her spit, "B-But the light keeps randomly turning off in the kitchen."

 _"Are the bulbs new?"_

"Yes," Amy lied. Actually, she didn't even know. Ever since she moved in, she never had to change them.

 _"There might be a fuse. We can send someone over to have a look at it."_

"U-Um, if it's not too much to ask..." Amy spluttered as she gripped the phone tighter, "The guy you sent last time- I would like to have him back."

 _"Not a problem. Who did we send you last time?"_

"Uh... S-Sonic," she squeaked out.

 _"Ah, Sonic the Hedgehog. He'll be available in the next few hours. Will two o'clock work for you?"_

"That's fine!" she was smiling now, "Thank you!"

 _"No problem. Have a nice day, miss."_

"You too."

Amy hung up as soon as the phone line clicked and let out a breath of relief. _Now I just have to fiddle with circuits_. She looked up at her light bulb with a determined look. _Come on, you can do this!_

...

Two o'clock came around fast than expected and Amy was nervous. She was scattering around the area peering out the window from time to time to see if he was there. She took quick looks at her work of the tangled electrical circuits. Hey, at least it looked believable. And tweezers weren't fun to use!

She had written down her number and the paper was scrunched up into her pocket. With how many laps she was doing around the apartment, the paper might've just been a goner.

Soon enough- and it was way too soon, Sonic's car pulled up and she wasn't near ready yet! She inwardly screamed and scrambled around the door frame, already seeing his blue silhouette walk up the steps to her door.

 _Oh no. Chaos, please. I can't! I can't! No, no, no-_

The door bell rang.

She jumped, her head whipping around as her stomach did a thousand backflips. Amy swallowed nervously. This is it.

So on shaky feet, she dragged a few steps to the door. _Please stop overreacting, Amy._ Putting on a smile, Amy pulled open the door.

"H-Hey..." she greeted him giving a small wave.

"Oh, hey Amy!" his cheerful voice rung into her home, "What's the problem? They told me about your lights acting up or something...?"

He was already calling her Amy. Oh god, she could just drift away now...

"Uh, y-yeah," she blundered, "The lights... in the kitchen. They stopped working." What a stupid excuse, but luckily Sonic seemed to buy it.

"Wow, your place probably needs a serious check over," he chuckled out as he stepped in, "Two times in two weeks."

Amy just smiled clumsily.

"Well, lead the way Amy and I'll look into it," Sonic said.

She nodded, shuffling backwards as she spun on her foot down the hallway. She heard Sonic following close behind, his tool box clanking loudly as she pointed at the kitchen light switch.

Sonic stepped into the room as his hand hovered the light switch. He pressed it and the light didn't come on. He flickered it a few more times but the result stayed the same. Amy had to mentally congratulate herself for making it work.

"Hmm, well there's definitely something wrong with it," the blue hedgehog stated, "I'll go check out your fuse box."

Amy nodded once more and watched him go around the corner to the fuse box. She couldn't help but grimace when he had latched open the box and saw that everything was all over the place.

"Whoa," Sonic sounded as he stared at all the wires dangling down.

"What is it?" she asked, pretending to not know what had happened.

"It's no wonder why it's not working," he laughed out, "They're just not plugged in properly."

Amy blushed sheepishly. "Oh."

Sonic began to rearrange everything back into its place. Once he was done, he closed the latch of the fuse box and walked towards the kitchen light switch. He flickered it on and the light lit up normally again.

"There," he smiled at her, "You shouldn't have a problem with them again."

She nervously smiled back at him. "Thanks..."

Sonic shook his head with a chuckle. "It's no problem," he walked over to get his tool kit.

"I'm sorry if I called you here for no reason then," Amy tried her very best to look guilty but it was just too hard when Sonic was smiling at her.

"It's okay, Amy," he laughed as he started to make his way to the door, "Stuff like that is easy to fix though even without an electrician! You can look it up on our site. Saves you a bit of money."

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind. Th-Thank you..."

He gave her that dazzling toothy grin again. "See you around, Amy!"

She saw him walk out the door, still mesmerised with what had just happened.

And she was oh so distracted by him going that she forgot to give him her number.

...

Amy did the research like Sonic told her to, but for the opposite reason. She wanted to actually sabotage her whole power supply. Of course, without producing major damage. She only really had tweezers laying around her place and it seemed that she actually had to go out to the hardware store and buy some more equipment.

She never visited a hardware store before, so she had to use her phone to navigate the one nearest to her. Turned out, there was one only two minutes away from her. Hooray.

When the pink hedgehog walked in, she was taken aback at how massive it was. Each shelf was filled with products she didn't know the name of and some that she didn't even know existed. Everything was unrecognisable in her inexperience eyes.

Figuring that the best place to start was the electrical area, she walked over there and starting her quest to find the best suitable electrical pliers.

She followed the signs that laid across the aisle, too shy to ask the staff walking by for assistance. Maybe she'd need them if she got lost, seeing how massive this place was.

Amy almost passed the small little area that had just what she wanted. Peaking through the wooden box, she looked at the picture on her phone before plucking out the exact same electrical pliers that she had been looking for.

"Amy?"

Amy's eyes widened at that awfully familiar voice and she whirled around to see a blue hedgehog.

"S-Sonic?" she suddenly put on a brave smile, "Hey..."

"Nice seeing you here!" Sonic beamed happily as he readjusted his grip onto his basket.

"Y-Yeah, I'm just," Amy jittery glanced down at the pliers, "Grabbing a few things."

"Looks like you took my advice," he smiled as he pocketed his hand, "What do you need those pliers for?"

"Just... for some wires."

He arched an eye. "Oh? What kind?"

"They're from my internet cable," she lied as she waved it off, "It's no big deal."

"They're not from the same cable, right?"

"Um, no," Amy didn't even know what she was suppose to say, "It's just a little finicky."

"Ah," Sonic nodded, "Try to take off the plastic covering behind it and work from there. Just give me a call if that doesn't work, since you have the company's number."

"I will, thank you!" Amy said. She waved a farewell to Sonic as she walked off. Now, she had a lot of work to do to make this seem believable.

...

Amy waited a full two days before she called the electrical company again. Who knew that sabotaging your own internet cable and power supply was tough work? Again, it wasn't too serious. But she made it believable to the point where it was no accident and that it magically started to act crazy again.

Sonic was already booked on the day she called, so the company told her that he'd be free to check it out the next day. Amy didn't mind though. In fact, she was glad that he wouldn't be here today. That way, she could actually check her work and that she could actually remember giving him her phone number this time.

When it was the next day, Amy wasn't nervous anymore. No. She was ready. She wasn't pacing around. Instead, she walked up to the door with confidence as she was greeted by Sonic once again.

"Long time no see, Amy!" he greeted her with a wink.

"H-Hey Sonic. Sorry for causing so much trouble."

"Eh, it's no problem at all! It's my job after all!" Sonic flashed her with a smile as he walked into the hallway, "So what's the problem this time? Your internet cables acting up again?"

"Mhm, I tried to fix it... but it looks like I made it worse," she said with a sheepish laugh.

Sonic just laughed. "Let's see how you went."

Amy led him the way into the living room where the cables were spread out.

"Same room, huh?" Sonic pondered, "You should get your landlord or someone to get into this. You shouldn't have to pay for faulty equipment and sockets."

"Yeah..."

"Well, it shouldn't take too long," Sonic crouched down with his box, "Everything will be as good as new in no time!"

"Okay... I'll be in the other room," Amy replied as she shuffled out of the area.

She started to twiddle her thumbs. _Oh before you go, here's my number!_ Amy mentally scowled at herself. _Hi, I think you're really cute! Let's hang out sometime?_

The pink hedgehog groaned. _I sound like a desperate fangirl._

"Ames?"

She froze. Ames? Oh wait, that was her. Who else could it be? Stupid Amy!

"Yes, Sonic?"

"Turn around."

Amy winced. "I-I don't want to..."

She heard him sigh and she could hear his boots clicking against the wooden floor. Amy lowered her head as Sonic walked around her so that they faced each other. She felt his hand underneath her chin before he lifted it up so that he could look at her.

"Ya know," Sonic grinned as he held up the piece of crumpled up paper, making her eyes go into a panic, "If you wanted my number, you could've just asked for it."

Amy's cheeks reddened and she couldn't help but snatch the piece of paper away from him. "H-How did you..."

"I found it when you walked off," he arched a teasing eye, "Looks like you didn't realise that you dropped it."

She couldn't see any anger in his eyes, only gentle understanding.

"It's fine, Amy," he laughed at her reaction, "I'm not angry. I'm actually flattered that you spent so much money just to see me again!" He dropped his hand from her chin as Amy just blinked at him.

"Still," she averted her eyes, "I should've just spoken to you instead of wasting your time..."

Sonic shook his head. "Nuh uh, you didn't waste my time at all!" he smiled again, this time it was much more gentler, "I won't lie, I liked seeing you too."

She gazed back up at him. "R-Really?"

"Really," he leaned over and held their hands together, "You can have my number. That way, we can actually meet up and talk _without_ all the faulty wires, huh?"

He shot her another grin and her face flushed harder.

"Sorry..."

"You're really cute."

Amy shot her eyes up at this. "W-What?"

Sonic only laughed again as he got out a piece of paper from his pocket. "I said you're really cute," he scribbled down something with his pen, "Here's my number!"

"S-Sonic?" Amy looked up at him as she took the piece of paper before noticing the little heart he had drawn next to his number, making her blush even more. She snapped her head up again when she felt his minty breath hovering over her.

"You better call me," he whispered lowly before planting a soft kiss on her cheek. He pulled away with a satisfied smirk as he picked up his tool box, "Can't wait for our first date, Ames!"

He winked at her once more as he walked out the door. Amy watched after him, face flushed with her hand clutching the small note tightly, the biggest smile eddying on her lips.


	2. Lesson

_002\. Lesson_

.

.

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"I'm gonna teach you how to swim."

The horror on Sonic's face explained it all.

"You're gonna what?" the blue hedgehog had to ask, not sure if he heard correctly.

Amy just smiled. "Swim!"

Sonic didn't move. "...And when will that be?"

"Today!" the pink hedgehog said happily making him flinch, "We're going to the beach!"

No, no, no.

 _Hell no._

That _won't_ be happening.

"Oh," his voice croaked out. He let out a forced smile. "Well... have fun, Ames!"

He quickly stood up and tried to make a hasty run for it. But Amy knew him all too well and gripped onto his arm just in time before he could make his rapid escape.

"Oh, no! You are _not_ dodging out of this one!" Amy yelled as she tackled him down onto the couch.

"Yes, I am!" Sonic barked back at her, struggling to get out of her strong hold, "I'm not going in that water, Amy! Not in a million years!"

"Quit acting like baby!" she told him, "You're Station Square's hero!"

"That still won't change the fact I'll die in that blue sea of death!" he retorted, "And I'm not acting like a baby! I'm being _reasonable!_ "

Amy just _had_ to roll her eyes. "You won't die!"

"Says you!" Sonic sneered.

Their bickering continued on for another few minutes before Amy finally had enough.

"Fine!" she huffed, letting go of him as she crossed her arms against her chest, "Guess I won't bother making chilli dogs for dinner ever again!"

His eyes widened, almost petrified. "You wouldn't..."

Amy stared down at him, a wicked grin forming her lips. "Watch me."

Sonic groaned. Okay, it may not have seemed like a big deal and he could always go to the chilli dog stand and eat there. But they weren't _Amy's_ chilli dogs. Amy's cooking was absolute perfection and there was nothing more better than actual homemade food... and _chilli dogs_.

Why did fate put him in this situation?

"Fine," he grimaced whilst saying, "I'll do it."

"You will?!" Amy was surprised but she did smile nonetheless, "Really?"

Sonic was dead inside. He couldn't believe he was agreeing to this. "Yeah..."

"Aw, Sonic!" she straddled his waist and leaned down to peck him on the lips, "Don't worry, your fear of water will be gone by the end of today!"

"I sure hope so..." he muttered, already unenthusiastic about the whole thing.

...

"Amy..." he started off, looking around the empty area of the beach, "Are you sure no one's gonna be here?"

"I'm positive!" his girlfriend told him, bringing out the inflatable float ring. She threw it at him, "Here, catch!"

Sonic caught it with ease before looking at it. "You want me to wear _this?_ "

She nodded. "Yup."

"But I'll look ridiculous!" he complained, glaring at the blue ring.

Amy sighed and walked to him, taking the float ring from him before squeezing it down his head until it was placed on his waist. "If you're gonna learn, then you'll have to wear it!"

"Oh god," he mumbled as she dragged him along to the water. He had to cover his eyes though. Even looking at the blue thing would make him shiver down his spine.

"Sonic, open your eyes," Amy strictly demanded when they stopped walking. Making Amy angry was never his intention but honestly! She was making him do something he'd never, ever, _EVER_ do.

But... Amy's wrath was _never_ to be tested with.

So like the good boyfriend he was, Sonic opened one eye before slowly opening the other. The first thing he felt was the water beneath his feet. He almost bounced off his feet but Amy held him still.

"It's shallow, you idiot," she laughed out.

"I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this!" Sonic panicked stepping out of the water and back onto the sand, "I am _not_ going in there!"

"You're wearing a _float_ , Sonic!" Amy pointed out, already annoyed, "It means you won't drown!"

"That's not the point!" he argued back, "I'm water phobic!"

"You drink water and you take a shower in it," the pink hedgehog bluntly said, hands on her hips.

He squinted at her. "It's not the same!"

Amy's eyes suddenly softened, arms dropping to her side. "Come on, Sonic," she pleaded him in a more gentler tone, "Please?"

"Amy, don't make that face," he said, feeling weakened by her look.

She smiled, leaning up against his face. " _Please_ , for me?"

Chaos, no matter how hard he tried, there was literally never a way to ignore Amy when it came to situations like this. He'd feel bad and terrible and then he'd have to make it up for her by doing something out of this world.

And it was _this_.

Wow, what a man would do for a woman.

He let out a longing sigh, bringing out his hand for her to take. Amy grinned, taking it once again and walked them to the shore.

"Okay," she said as their feet touched the water, "We're gonna walk further in, all right?"

The blue speedster didn't say a word, but as the water felt deeper against his skin, Sonic's grip on Amy's hand grew tighter.

"Amy..." he nervously trailed off, eyes googling at the level of the water.

"Just relax," she told him softly, laying him down, "You've got your float on so nothing's gonna happen."

She was right. Because once she let go, he wasn't drowning, or dying, or drifting off.

He was floating.

And he was going absolutely _insane_.

"See? This isn't so bad, is it?" Amy said, as if doing all of this was no big deal and that it was the easiest thing in the world.

"I'm not answering that," Sonic hesitantly glanced around him, "Now what?"

Her next words were terrifying. "I'm going to take the float off of you."

Sonic's eyes widened and he immediately shook his head. "Nope, nope, nope!" He tried making his way to the shore but Amy only pulled him back.

"Sonic!" she yelled at him, "You need to calm down!"

The blue hedgehog couldn't believe his ears. "How can I calm down when you're gonna take off the only thing that's gonna keep me alive?!"

Maybe words couldn't get across to him but her actions could. Amy caught his face in her hands, framing it gently. "Sonic, look at me."

He slowly stopped his squirming and grudgingly obeyed.

"You're going to be _fine_ ," she left a soft kiss on his lips, "I'm here with you, okay? I won't let anything happen."

"Y-You sure?" he couldn't help but stammer.

"Mhm!" Amy giggled, leaving another gentle kiss on his cheek before loosening the float off of him.

Once she did so, Sonic immediately held onto her shoulders. He remembered what she said and took a few deep breaths, calming himself and his stomach down.

"Good!" his girlfriend praised him, "You can let go of my shoulders now."

Sonic frantically shook his head.

"Don't worry," Amy held his cheek, "I'm here, remember?"

He stared at her, emerald eyes quivering. _Right. Your girlfriend's here, your girlfriend's here! Stop being such a wuss, Sonic!_ He gulped, his hands pulling away from her shoulders.

She smiled at his efforts. "Are you drowning?"

He felt like a kid. "I'm... I'm floating!"

"You are!" Amy laughed out, "And you're not dying."

Sonic sheepishly grinned at her. "I-I'm not..."

"I'm so proud of you!" the pink hedgehog was excited, "Come on, let's start moving along the water so you can get used to it."

She took a hold of his arm again and pulled him. However, he didn't move. Confused, she looked back at the blue hedgehog. "Sonic?"

His smile was crooked. "What are you waiting for?"

Amy tried pulling him again but he just wouldn't budge. It was then she realised that he was still holding back. "You're kidding me, right?"

The speedster broke a sweat. "Huh?"

"My god, Sonic!" Amy let go of him, feeling aggravated, "What if I was thrown into the ocean by Eggman's robots, would you save me then?"

He didn't reply.

Amy was taken aback by his quietness. "Wow," she rolled her eyes, "You know what? You can go right on home! I can't believe you're willing to risk your life when fighting Eggman but when it comes to this sort of thing, it's like you're a whole different person!" Amy shook her head and began to swim off before muttering, "This was such a waste of time..."

When she swam off, Sonic was gobsmacked. It had been a while since Amy said those sorts of words to him. He immediately felt bad. She had gone her way just to teach him the basics of not fearing water. Gosh, she even bought him a pair of _swimming trunks_. And safety equipment just for him! If that wasn't being a dedicated partner, that he didn't know what was.

Snapping out of his trance, he called out for her. "Amy?"

But there was no response.

His eyes widened as he quickly scanned the area, trying to find pink. "Ames?!"

 _Oh crap! Oh crap! Where's Amy?!_ He panicked.

"Sonic!"

He snapped his head towards the voice. He saw the pink hedgehog struggling as she tried to swim back up from the water, gasping for breath and gurgling.

Was she going to drown? _She was going to drown!_

Not thinking twice, Sonic took a deep breath and dived into the water. Of course, he struggled to move but Amy was in danger! Using his arms, he paddled his way across so he could quickly get to her. Water splashed into his ears and eyes but none of that mattered when his focus was to save his girlfriend!

Once he neared her Sonic splashed out of the water, gasping for air as he rapidly lifted Amy up from the water and into his arms. He trod along the water and then jogged when it became shallow.

"Amy!" he sat her down against a rock. He rubbed her back as she coughed. "Are you okay?!"

"Y-Yeah," she coughed out, her voice rough.

The blue worriedly stared at her. "Jeez, Ames! You could've gotten yourself killed!"

She suddenly smiled at him. "I know..."

Sonic felt skeptical until he finally caught on. "You didn't..."

Amy let out the laughter she had been holding. "I did!"

"You risked your life just to teach me a lesson?!" his shoulders slumped, "Amy, I can't believe you!"

"Oh hush!" She stood up, wrapping her arms around him, "I just made you prove to yourself that you can do it."

"I can?" Sonic blinked.

"Mhm!" the pink hedgehog nodded, "Even though you were scared, you still saved me," her smile softened, "I was wrong to say all of that to you."

A tint of red filtered his cheeks, which made him look away. "It's no big deal..." he told her as he scratched the back of his head.

She rubbed his wet spikes with a giggle, turning his face back to her as she gave him another smooch on his lips. Her smile widened when he became flustered. "Come on, let's finish up for today."

Sonic was confused. "But I haven't learned how to swim yet."

"I got you into the water, that's all that counts," Amy shrugged before raising an eye, "Why? Do you want to stay in there for _longer?_ "

He immediately deflated the idea. "No!"

Feeling amused, Amy just shook her head. "There's a chilli dog stand nearby."

Sonic's green eyes beamed. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" he cheered, picking her up before dashing off.


	3. the play writer

_003\. the play writer_

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.

.

"Do you mind if I sit here? The other tables are full."

Sonic looked up from his book, his concentration vanishing. Just across from him stood a pink hedgehog, a nervous smile curling her lips as she uncomfortably shuffled on her feet.

He smiled back at her and sat up a little straighter. "Go ahead."

She almost beamed. "Thank you."

Sonic took a glance around the library as she sat. He had no idea it was this full already. Then again, he was studying for three hours straight and he sort of just zoned out into reading his book and taking notes.

 _Looks like studying does take you into another world, huh..._

"No problem," he said, watching her take out some books, "I've seen you around campus before, I think...?"

The girl laughed quietly. "I'm usually in the drama department," she told him sheepishly, "I come up with the ideas and sometimes end up writing the whole script for the plays."

He nodded, feeling impressed. "You're really talented then!"

Her posture stilled for a moment before a hint of red dusted her cheeks. "Th-Thanks."

"I go to the plays all the time," he continued. He was such an extrovert, _gosh_. "I'm Sonic, by the way."

"I know," the pink hedgehog replied, slightly shook by his forwardness, "U-Um... Amy."

Sonic noticed the girl tensing up. "Ah, sorry," he scratched the back of his head when realising he was talking too much. She probably wasn't used to such interaction.

Amy shook her head and shot him a reassuring smile before opening her textbook. "It's fine."

The blue hedgehog watched her as she began to read off the words. Okay, while he didn't want to make it seem as if he was practically ogling at her, he couldn't help but to. She was really... _pretty_. He wouldn't dare to lie about the truthful fact that he'd always looked forward to the end of every play, just so they could bring her up on the stage to credit her for writing them.

He wouldn't admit that to anybody though. Chaos, it took a while to even admit that to _himself_.

Tails would constantly tease him about it.

 _"Wait. So you like that play writer from the drama department? Amy Rose?"_

He'd deny it in every way possible but that two-tailed fox had always seen through him. The _nerve_.

Sonic shifted his eyes around the library again. Since it was lunch time, it was steadily getting packed.

 _Maybe she would want to have...?_

"Hey," he whispered to her this time and the pink hedgehog paused her reading whilst stiffening, before slowly looking up at him.

He grinned. "You wanna go get something to eat? It's on me!"

"W-What?" she stammered, eyes widening when he began to pack his things quickly.

"Let's go, let's go!" he said eagerly getting up from his seat, flailing his arms around slightly.

Amy blinked at him, heat betraying her cheeks.

His felt relieved when she gingerly stood up, taking her belongings with her. Though, he could see an unsure gaze settling upon him.

"Don't worry," he told her when they were outside of the library, "We can study at this secret place I know!"

"S-Secret place?!" she suddenly questioned vividly, taking a slight step away from the blue hedgehog.

Sonic abruptly stopped when he realised how that sounded. "Wait! No, no, no!" It was his turn to blush. "I-I didn't mean it like _that!_ I meant there's this spot I know on campus and it's basically quiet and I was thinking we could just eat our lunch there and study, th-that's all!"

 _Wait a go, you idiot. You totally blew it!_

His pink companion tilted her head at him. "...I've always thought you were a cool-headed person."

He froze, stopping the quick motions of his hands. "...Huh?"

"You know," she smiled, "Being able to charm the ladies without a problem," Amy stifled a giggle, "It's nice to see how you really are."

Sonic blinked and then blinked again when she finally burst out her giggles. He then reached the back of his head awkwardly, scratching it. "I'm... you shouldn't believe in those sorts of things," his cheeks went warm again, "I'm not even remotely like that."

She nodded reassuringly when noticing his flustered expression. "I'm all right with that!"

His heart thumped.

"You are?" Sonic couldn't help but to ask, his eyes suddenly beaming, "Really?!"

Amy let out another smile, almost adoring his child-like look. "Mhm!"

"Truly?!" he pressed on, leaning a little closer as he subconsciously took a hold of her hands, "Because during my breaks when I don't have soccer practice, I've always wanted to write a play! I-If you could teach me, that would be awesome!"

Her widened green eyes suddenly gazed down at their hands and Sonic followed them too and realised his awful mistake.

He flinched away quickly. "S-Sorry!"

Chaos, was he always such a _klutz?_

To his surprise, Amy started laughing. And that laughter grew louder. Sonic stood embarrassingly still, taken aback by the sound.

"S-Sorry!" the pink hedgehog breathed out, her laughing dying down, "It's just... _wow!_ So this is Sonic the Hedgehog, huh?"

Sonic didn't say anything. That was a rhetorical question, right?

Amy shook her head and smiled once more. "Of course I'll teach you!"

All the clumsy thoughts disappeared from his mind when he heard those words. "Really?!"

That adorable beam in his eyes came back and Amy could only mirror it. "Yes!"

Sonic was glad. His stomach were doing flips and turns of course, but he was happy! "Let's go eat then!" he cheered before taking a hold of her wrist and excitedly pulled her along to the entrance of the cafeteria.

He felt Amy softly tug on his hold. Confused, Sonic stopped and turned around. He then saw her pull away from his hand, her smile lining her lips again.

"It's nice to meet you, Sonic," she said, taking out her hand.

Sonic quickly replaced his worrying look with a dashing grin and shook it. "You too, Amy!"


	4. Her blue barista

_004\. Her blue barista_

 _._

 _._

 _._

Another day, another way of motivating herself with some caffeine to kickstart her revision.

Amy walked into her regular coffee house that morning, the familiar and delightful smell of fresh brewed coffee filling her nostrils.

"Hey Amy!" Tails kindly greeted her from the counter, "The usual?"

The pink hedgehog nodded with a smile and began dishing out her change from her purse. "Yes, thank you Tails!" she said, giving the barista her money, "Say, has Tikal been any better?"

"She's much better than before," the fox said, putting the money in the till box and grabbed a plastic cup, "The flu had her good though. Shadow's making her stay home for a few more days."

"Over concerned much?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, that's Shadow for-"

"Tails!" a voice called from the back that Amy was unfamiliar with, "Boss is calling for you at eight o'clock!"

Tails gave her an apologetic smile. "...I'll be right back."

"No problem," she assured him, watching the fox disappear into the curtains. Amy then glanced around the place. Luckily, it wasn't so busy as it was the weekend. Whilst she waited, she pulled out her phone and replied to the missed messages she received last night.

"So sorry about that!" she heard the same voice say. Amy looked up from her screen to see a blue hedgehog wiping his hands with a towel before making his way to the counter, "Tails is usually good with the computers and stuff, so our manager needed him for some data checking."

Amy pocketed her phone away and shook her head in understanding. "No, that's fine."

He pulled out a black marker and held the plastic cup Tails had left him. "An iced latte, right?"

"Yes please," she said politely, her eyes somehow not able to leave him, "A-And um..."

He finally looked over to her and Amy immediately panicked, quickly shifting her eyes away from his. "S-Soya!"

 _Dammit!_

"Oh, with soy milk?" he asked, a slightly amused smile etching his lips.

She paused but then nodded meekly. "Y-Yes, please."

"Not a problem!" he grinned and marked it on the cup, "And your name?"

"Amy..."

"Thanks for your order, Amy!" the blue hedgehog said and pointed where she needed to wait, "It'll be right up in a moment!"

Noticing the small line behind her, Amy nodded again and scurried over to the waiting area. She pulled out her phone again as a distraction but she couldn't help but peek at the blue barista as he took the other customers' orders. Tails came out from the back a few minutes after and helped him with the drinks, and she _prayed_ that the fox would be giving her drink to save the evident embarrassment growing on her cheeks.

"Here you go. One medium soya iced latte!"

Though, not _all_ wishes came true.

The pink hedgehog jumped lightly as her cold drink slid against the counter topped with its straw. She steadily glanced up at the blue hedgehog with a small smile, hoping that everything didn't look too obvious. "Thank you."

He gave her a wink in return. "You're welcome! See you around!"

Amy blushed and nodded. Behind him, she gave a small wave at Tails who smiled and waved back. She took her drink and before the blue male had turned away from her, she managed to catch his name from his tag.

Hastily turning and walking back to the entrance, Amy let out a breath of relief when she was outside.

 _Sonic._

She guessed the name suited him. Seeing how he was blue and how fast he managed to make her drink. He was... cute too. Energetic for someone who would be working early at this hour.

 _Stop thinking like this, Amy! He's a new employee. You don't even know him!_

She sighed, taking a sip from her latte but paused when she noticed something written on her cup other than her name.

 _We have matching eyes! Except... I could get lost in yours. ;)_

Amy nearly choked on her drink.

...

Amy was actually hesitant to go into the coffee house the next day. She planned to do her homework there, like she usually would do with the free time she'd have left after her classes.

However if _Sonic_ was there, then she'd have to stay cautious and force herself to relax and she hated doing both of those things. It was unnatural of her and stressful! Hopefully his shift wasn't today then she wouldn't have to worry about her heart doing sixty beats per minute.

When she entered, she immediately spotted a female orange echidna serving a customer their drink.

Amy beamed and quickly walked up to the counter as the customer turned to leave. "Tikal!"

Tikal closed the till box and looked over to her with a bright smile. "Hi Amy!"'

"Are you feeling okay now?" the pink hedgehog asked her friend.

"Mhm!" the echidna nodded followed by a small cough, "W-Well... almost. But I'm able to work fine!"

Amy felt a little unsure. "Don't try and push yourself, Tikal. Make sure to drink lots of water!"

"I'll keep that in mind," Tikal gently laughed out before taking a plastic cup, "Iced latte?"

"Yes please," she said taking out her money, "Is Tails around?"

The echidna shook her head as she dropped the money in the cash register. "He'll be here later on with Sonic."

Amy's eyes quickly widened, her grip on her purse almost loosening. "S-Sonic?!"

"Yes," Tikal answered with another laugh as she made her drink, "He just started working here."

"Oh..."

Tikal paused in pumping some of the vanilla in her cup and stared at her with concern. "Is something wrong?"

 _Totally wrong._ "N-No, nothing's wrong," the pink hedgehog reassured her with another smile.

Her friend didn't seem too convinced. She couldn't blame her though, that was a _horrible_ attempt to back herself up. Though luckily, Tikal didn't question it and kindly smiled back at her and continued making the order.

Amy thanked Tikal once her drink was done and left her a small tip, before turning around to sit somewhere she would able to concentrate. Once she found a suitable spot, she proceeded to take out her textbook and comfortably seated herself as she opened her bookmarked page.

Tikal accompanied her a while later with another drink for free at the near end of her shift. The two talked about their classes for the next half an hour and their summer plans once final exams were over.

"Oh! Shadow's outside waiting for me," the echidna said, looking at her phone and then back over to Amy, "Are you staying here for a little more?"

"Mhm!" she replied and then flicked all the unread pages of her textbook with her thumb, "I want to get these done and I think I'll be able to finish it today!"

"Please take small breaks when you do, okay?" the echidna told her. Amy laughed and nodded reassuringly before they shared a hug. Tikal waved her a goodbye as she started to make her way out. "Take care!"

Amy smiled after her but it evidently dropped when she saw a blue hedgehog entering the shop, holding the door for Tikal. They shared a small greeting before parting. She immediately snapped back down at her textbook, ignoring her nervous knee bouncing and hitting underneath the table when he was making his way around the counter.

Gosh, she really needed to get over this. _And quickly!_

Curiosity killed the cat and so when she lifted her head up to take another peek, at that exact moment, his walking had slowed down and his green eyes caught her own. Like the clumsy person she was, Amy rapidly shifted back to her book, even though her brain wasn't processing any of the words presented in front of her.

Her ears twitched when she heard his faint laugh and so when she looked up again, she saw him going into the back with a grin.

Amy let out the breath she had been holding in.

He was absolutely _suffocating_ her.

She shook her head and refocused on the page she was suppose to be reading. Only a few more and she was out of here.

Another few hours passed and Amy had finally finished. Closing her book, she glanced at the time on her wrist watch to see it was just past seven thirty. Feeling accomplished, she stretched her arms and legs out with a yawn before tidying her things away.

"You look like you've worked hard."

Amy stopped sorting out her scattered papers, her body freezing at the voice. Hesitantly, her eyes travelled up to the barista's attire until she caught his eyes again. Sonic grinned against his handsome features, sliding a drink down to her.

"Yeah, I guess..." the pink hedgehog trailed off, unsure of what to say next. She then glanced around to see that the place was almost empty. "Um... is Tails not in today?"

"Nope!" he answered making her look back at him, "He caught Tikal's flu so he won't be in for a couple of days," the barista then arched an eye, "Why? You need him for something?"

Amy blinked at him before waving it off. "Uh... no reason," she stammered lightly, "Tell him I said get well soon."

"Will do!" Sonic responded cheerfully, eyeing at her as she zipped up her bag, "By the way," he added in causing Amy to stare up at him, "I hope you liked what I said the other day," the blue hedgehog threw her another charming smile, "Enjoy your free drink, Ames!"

The blue barista gave her a cute peace sign and then jogged off, leaving Amy in a pile of bewilderment and then embarrassment as unwanted heat rose up to her pale cheeks.

As she stood up, she glanced down at the drink he had given her. Picking it up, she noticed another written message on the side of the cup.

 _You must be a magician 'cuz whenever I look at you, everyone else disappears. :O_

Amy blushed throughout the whole walk home.

...

"So what do you major in, Ames?"

Without moving her head from the textbook, Amy shifted her eyes up at him. "History."

"Oh god!" Sonic shot her a sour expression, "How do you remember all that information?"

"P-Practice I guess," she answered bashfully, "What about you?"

He gave her a proud smile. "Chemistry!"

Didn't that require a lot of memory too? Or maybe he just found her subject to be boring. Which was _partially_ true.

She threw him a supportive smile back. "That's nice."

"Thank you!" the handsome barista beamed before magically pulling out another iced latte from behind, "Here ya go, you need it!"

Sonic gave her a wink and disappeared off. Amy's eyes furrowed in confusion because where on _Earth_ was he hiding that drink? She then traveled them down to the cup, again realising that something was scribbled on it.

 _Let's build some Chemistry before making History. :'D_

Amy covered her cheeks for the remainder of the day.

...

Honestly, she couldn't tell if he was either joking around with the messages or being serious. It was hard to tell. Seeing how _cocky_ and _cheesy_ he was with them.

But... it was cute, adorably cute. _Infuriatingly cute._

She was such a lovesick fool.

Though, she didn't want to feel special or excited about it. For all she knew, he could be doing this to any other girl he'd come across at the coffee house.

She tried to not let it get to her, since she barely knew Sonic. However, if she was going to see him almost everyday she went in, then it would be hard not to be slightly, if not mostly, interested in him. He was definitely the most good looking guy she had come across with.

A crush? Most definitely.

Amy huffed at her own thoughts as she walked over to the counter with her laptop in hand.

"You must really like caffeine, huh Ames?"

She flinched back and stared over to see Sonic's dazzling grin greeting her once again, a small wave following after.

Blinking her eyes away, she laid her laptop onto the counter before getting out her purse. "It keeps me going for the rest of the day..."

Sonic hummed, sliding a cup from the pile. "Ya know, you get twenty percent off your order if you reuse your plastic cups."

Amy instantly thought of the plastic cups he had served her, of which she kept. "O-Oh, really?"

The blue hedgehog suddenly threw her a cheeky smirk, dropping her coins down into the register. "Really."

She cleared her throat, trying to resist the blush rushing up to her face as she watched him work on her drink. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you."

In record time, her order was made and the blue barista held it out to the pink hedgehog. "Not a problem!"

Amy cracked a shy smile before taking it, but the brush of their fingers froze her into place. She snapped her gaze to Sonic, who only grinned again in a teasing manner. She pressed her lips together and hastily took her drink, mouth fumbling when she turned around and walked away, hugging her laptop tight against her chest.

 _Get it together, Amy!_

She didn't look at her cup until she was outside.

 _I lost my phone number. Can I have yours? :p_

Amy anxiously chewed on her straw for the entire day.

...

She reused her cup like he suggested her to in the following few days.

And the cheesy pick up lines kept coming.

 _Do you believe in love at first sight? Or do I need to pass by again?_

 _Did the sun come out? Or was it just you smiling at me?_

 _Did you know our ship name is SonAmy? It sounds like tsunami. Your tsunami waves washed my worries away!_

It was odd giving him the reused cup over and over again, because that knowing grin he had was there whenever she'd give it to him for a refill. It was also uncomfortable knowing all his flirtatious notes were on there too, and she'd even have to try and hide them with her hands whenever she was with her friends.

It was still cute. Yet, embarrassing. And needed to confront him about it. Now.

After her class ended, Amy hurried to the shop with confidence and determination. When she stepped in, she was greeted by Tails and Tikal who were wiping the tables. She said a quick "hi" to them before spotting the blue barista standing in front of a table with a bunch of girls. At first, she thought nothing of it but as her walking slowed down, Amy noticed the familiar flirtatious attitude he was giving towards them. Her look then regrettably travelled down to their cups... which also had something more than just a name written on them.

Her heart dropped.

Sonic caught her appearance from the corner of his eye and smiled at her. "Oh, hey Am-"

He stopped abruptly when he saw her face.

And without delay Amy fleetingly turned around and hurried out, unwanted tears brimming her eyelids.

"Amy!" Tikal worriedly called out to her friend before quickly looking at Tails, "W-What happened?!"

Tails didn't know either. Though, when he turned his gaze over to his blue friend, a small frown went up his lips. "...What did you do?"

Sonic looked at the both of them, a guilty expression surrounding his features. Without responding, he undid his apron and sped off after her.

...

She was right! She was absolutely right! Getting a Prince Charming was an absolute fairytale and would never exist in her life. Perfect! Just _perfect!_

"Amy!"

She clenched her teeth and kept walking, blocking the sounds of his running footsteps across the pavement.

"Amy, wait!"

He took hold of her arm and Amy hastily whirled around to face him, angry tears dribbling down her face. "W-What do you want?!"

Sonic looked remorseful. "I can explain-"

"Explain what?" Amy yanked her arm away from his hold, "That you just flirt with random girls whenever you feel like it?!"

The blue hedgehog's eyes widened. "No! That's not-"

Her patience was being tested. "Th-Then what is?! Is giving someone false hope one of your talents?!"

"Hear me out-"

But Amy didn't want to hear anything from him.

"You're just a jerk!" she cut him off once more sobbing this time, "A stupid jerk!" Amy then took out all of the empty plastic cups he had served her from her bag and shoved them into his hands, "Here, take them! I-I don't see the use anymore!"

"You kept them..." Sonic trailed off, surprised that she did but snapped his head back at her, "Does that mean-?"

"Y-Yes!" Amy hiccuped out, vigorously wiping her tears from her red cheeks. She felt pathetic and helpless at that moment, so she turned back around and stomped away. "But it doesn't matter now, so don't follow me!"

And he didn't.

...

Amy avoided Sonic at all costs whenever she stepped into the coffee house. She made sure it was either Tails or Tikal or some other person who'd make and serve her drink. There were times where they accidentally connected each other's gazes, but she would snap away the second it happened.

One day, noticing the shop was closing up and she was the only customer left, Amy promptly gathered her things. Before she stood up though, a drink was slid across to her. The pink hedgehog blankly stared at it and then looked up to see that Sonic had given it. She was about to decline but he walked back before she could utter a word.

Amy shook her head with a huff and strapped her bag around her shoulder. She got up and pushed her chair in, fixing her skirt as she did so. As she grabbed her textbook, her jade eyes lingered on the drink.

A message was written on it. A long one.

She steadily glanced around before taking it with her, curiosity getting the upper hand as she hurried out without a word.

When she stopped in front of her apartment, Amy finished the drink and finally gave the note a read, albeit, with her heart skipping a beat.

 _Amy,_

 _I like you. A lot. I mean it. The other day was a complete misunderstanding! I only wrote a 'Thank you, please come again!" on their cups 'cause it's mandatory to do that! But... I understand if you felt uncomfortable with the way I was acting towards them. It wasn't intentional! I'm really really really sorry, Ames. Please let me make it up to you._

It didn't take a second for Amy to go rushing back, feeling like the most horrible person on Earth.

...

With seconds to spare Amy rushed into the empty coffee house, hands on her knees as she breathed heavily.

She saw Sonic wiping off the counter tops before he turned around. "I'm sorry, but we're clo-"

The barista's words were cut short when he saw her, causing his feet to be glued on the floor. "A-Amy...?"

Amy stood properly and suddenly smiled at him, eyes glistening as she blushed openly in which Sonic was taken aback by the sight. He was about to say something else but she dropped her bag and ran up to him, immediately wrapping her arms around his neck and pulled him down to connect their lips together.

"I-I like you too," she finally said, pulling away with another smile, "A lot."

Sonic still hadn't said anything and kept blinking, a tint of red blooming on his cheeks.

Amy began to worry. "S-Sonic?" she blundered, beginning to think her actions were a mistake as she searched his eyes, "Are you-"

He swallowed down her words as he smashed their lips back together. She yelped tensing up, but slowly relaxed and closed her eyes, kissing him equally in the same passion.

The barista pulled away but kept their foreheads touching. Sonic plastered his signature grin that Amy learned to love, murmuring a soft, "Finally."

...

"Are you the only one here?" Amy asked Sonic as he put down a cup of warm latte in front of her. She quietly thanked him and took a pleasurable sip.

"Yup!" he replied sliding into the opposite stool, cupping his hands around his own cup, "I usually close the store down on Fridays."

She nodded before stirring her drink. "Uhm..."

"Hm?"

Amy cleared her throat, averting her eyes, "S-Sorry about the other day..."

Sonic tilted his head and let out a free laugh. "Don't worry about it, Ames! It was just a misunderstanding is all."

He was forgivingly sweet and that made her smile even more. "Yeah."

"But ya sure do have a temper..." he added in, scratching the back of his head.

She pressed her lips together, her skin flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry..."

"Oh! I kept your cups in the back by the way," Sonic told her, "You still want to keep them or...?"

"Y-Yes!" the pink hedgehog answered immediately, "Thanks."

He playfully rolled his eyes. "As if I'd throw 'em out. They're a work of art!"

She laughed gently. There was a comfortable silence between the two as they sipped on their drinks, the ticks of the clock nearby accompanying them.

"So," Sonic broke it off putting Amy's attention on him. He stared back with a teasing arched eye. "Kissing before the first date? _Bold._ "

She took a second to process his words before bashfully pouting at him. "I-I could say the same thing to you... writing down cheesy pick up lines on my cups."

"Cheesy?!" the blue hedgehog pretended to be offended, "I'm truly hurt, Ames!"

Amy stifled a giggle. "...They were cute though!"

"Of course they were!" Sonic exclaimed and then curled his lips into a smirk, "Because I like you _a latte._ "

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at that one. "You're lucky that you're cute."

He smiled and held one of her hands up to his lips. "Nah, I'm just lucky that you're beautiful."

At that moment she felt incredibly hot and weak, watching him brush his lips against her knuckles. "Sonic..."

Sonic clasped her hand against his, leaving a soft peck on her fingers before cheekily grinning at her. "Kiss me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming you're busy tomorrow night, right?"

Amy blinked and then laughed softly, her blush reddening as she gently wrapped her arms around his neck. "No," she whispered sweetly before indulging his lips once again.


	5. Her cheeky barista

_005\. Her cheeky barista_

.

.

.

Finals were really taking its toll on Amy. Only two weeks away and she felt as if she hadn't gone through enough of her revision work, even though she had been at it non-stop the past month, sleeping four hours a day as well as eating something as small as a plain cheese sandwich for lunch and dinner. Everything else was liquid based, more specifically, caffeine based because hey, that was really the reason why she'd been able to go through the heavy days.

She tried to look decent everyday when getting out of the house, hiding the dark circles from her eyes with her concealer because of the lack of sleep. It proved to be difficult because the hedgehog found herself rubbing her tired sleepy eyes in the middle of a study session, and her circles would poke out terribly. Having noticed this habit happened frequently, Amy made sure to pack her emergency concealer.

It was sad though, because she hadn't been able to hang out with-

"Ames?"

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" Amy jolted her head up from her textbook, eyes still droopy from the small nap she had taken. She blinked a couple of times before her blurry vision became clearer when seeing a blue hedgehog across from her. "...What time is it?"

Sonic let out a laugh and shook his head. "We're closing up now," he sat down opposite her, "You should really calm down on the studying, Amy. You look half dead every time I see you come in here!"

"Gee thanks," she sighed and buried her cheeks against her hands, "I don't get why you're not stressed. Yours is a week before mine."

"Pfft, I don't get stressed!"

"...But you were stressed on our first date."

Sonic huffed. "I was _not!_ " he then casted his eyes to the side as he scratched the back of his neck, "Okay, maybe a _little._ But hey! At least I didn't look like a zombie!"

Amy suddenly shot a glare at him.

"Kidding, kidding!" the blue hedgehog grinned with his hands up as if he just surrendered. He then looked at her with genuine concern, "But seriously, this _can't_ be good for you, Ames. I understand that you want a good grade but studying excessively like this without breaks has to be driving you insane," Sonic followed up his statement with a smile, "Plus, you already know this stuff at the back of your head! That exam is gonna be a piece of cake!"

"I know but," she couldn't help but find the urge to smile back at him, thankful for his comment, "I just want to one hundred percent ace it this time. I've been working so hard to get to this point and I don't wanna blow it off, you know? It's important to me..."

Her barista formed a small pout before gathering her hand into his. "More important than me?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Amy giggled squeezing their hands together, "What brought this on?"

Sonic gave her the most innocent looking puppy dog eyes she had ever seen. "Our one year anniversary is tomorrow."

It took a moment for Amy's brain to process what he had just said before she quickly turned frantic. "I-It is?!"

How time flew. It felt like it was just yesterday that the barista was writing down his cheesy messages on her cups.

He still did that by the way, but more so to _annoy_ her than them being pleasing.

"Yeah!" Sonic studied her expression and his cute pout deepened, "Don't tell me you forgot?!"

"N-No!" Amy stammered as she tried to hinder her blush, "I knew that!"

He snorted out a laugh. "You're such a bad liar."

The pink hedgehog breathed in and then out exhaustingly, admitting defeat. "I'm sorry."

"Ah, it's okay Ames," the blue hedgehog sent her a hopeful look, "Tomorrow's our anniversary and it's a Saturday, soooo we're gonna hang out and you're gonna forget all about that textbook!"

However Amy insisted. "But-"

"No buts!" Sonic became determined, "That book is banned starting from now until Monday!" he pulled out his hand, "Gimmie it!"

She whined. "Sonic-!"

He swiftly snatched it away from her and then eyed at her notebook. "That too."

Amy stubbornly rolled her eyes and slid it across to him with a sigh. "I hate you."

"Love you too," Sonic teased with a chuckle, "And to make sure that I keep my word, you're staying with me this weekend."

She raised an eye. "But I don't have my clothes with me."

"I bought you a few clothes the other day as a gift for tomorrow," he smiled when he saw her eyes widen again and shot her a suggestive gaze, "...Or you can wear some of mine if you want."

The girl quickly blushed at his offer as she knew what he was thinking. "Pervert."

"Beautiful."

"...Cheeky."

 _"Cute."_

They both shared a laugh before Sonic stood up from his seat. "I'm gonna go change outta this and then we'll head off to grab dinner."

Amy nodded. "Okay."

She naturally reached for her neglected coffee cup but Sonic had beaten her to it.

"Oh, no you don't!" he grabbed the lukewarm cup and wagged his finger, "No more caffeine for you, miss!"

"But I paid for that!" Amy got up from her seat and whined as she went after him, "Sonic! Soooonic!"

...

Amy stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped around her hair as she stepped foot into Sonic's room. "Your hair product collection has grown the last time I saw it."

"Long quills, what can a hedgehog do?" Sonic said as he lounged on his bed with a book in his lap.

She took off her towel and placed it aside. "You're studying?"

"Just a little," he replied before flipping a page of his chemistry book, "I know all this stuff already but I'm just making sure. Before you call me a hypocrite, just know that my sleeping and eating habits are perfectly normal!"

The girl shook her head with a light giggle. "All right."

Sonic set his book aside and Amy took this as an indication that he was ready to sleep. She switched off the lights and climbed into the bed with his awaiting arms, sighing into the welcoming warmness.

"What are we gonna do tomorrow?" the pink hedgehog found herself asking.

He hummed. "It's a surprise."

"If you're planning to take me to that haunted dungeon again, I _will_ kill you."

"Aww, but then you wouldn't be able to engulf yourself into my arms again!" he joked but then felt Amy's leg kick his own underneath the covers, "Ow, ow! Okay, sorry sorry!"

A tired laugh escaped her lips. "Thank you though," she said softly before elaborating, "I do need a break after all."

Sonic smiled. "Of course you do, Ames," his jade green eyes glowed against the dark as he yawned, "You're gonna ace that exam, I know it."

She grinned as they shared a soft kiss. "You too..."

"But let's hope it's all over quick," he added, "Can't have you looking like a horrid zombie anymore."

Amy's smile dropped as she huffed and didn't hesitate to pull hard on his ear.

"OW! I meant a beautiful zombie, _a beautiful zombie!_ "


	6. Baking

_006\. Baking_

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.

.

It was relatively quiet at the sweet shop. Customers came in and out, gathering what they wanted with no fuss. Little conversations and thank you's echoed across the store, children happily buying all the sweets they wanted before being scolded by their parents for picking too many.

Halloween wasn't too far off so Amy understood their need to gaining so many chocolates. However, she was concerned for their teeth so every time the children would enter the store without their parents, she'd give them a lecture about it and sell them a healthier alternative. They were reluctant about it of course, but they were obedient which she was grateful for.

She sighed with content, stretching her arms out after she had served another customer. Looking at the half empty sweet jar to her right, she decided to fill it up again with more chocolates.

"Hey Ames!"

Amy squeaked and her grip on the sweet jar loosened as it went sliding down from her hand. Fortunately enough, another pair of hands came to the rescue and caught it with ease. She sighed in relief before quickly snapping up her head to shoot a glare at her customer. "What?!"

"Weeeeeell, it's nice to see ya too!" Sonic said with a laugh as he gave back the jar.

She shook her head before walking to the back of the counter. "Aren't you suppose to be at work?"

"I'm on my break and besides," he clapped his hands together and beamed with whole hearted eagerness, "I missed you!"

"...You're two minutes away from me," she pouted.

Sonic seemed unbothered as he tilted his head. "And?"

Amy slumped down against a chair and squinted at him. "You wouldn't just come in here without a real reason."

"Woooow," Sonic held his hand against his heart, "So I can't see my beautiful girlfriend during my breaks?!" he sniffed wiping his eye, "You're so cruel, Ames..."

She'd genuinely feel bad if he wasn't faking it. With a huff and a hand on her hip Amy sat there unimpressed, a slight twitch of her eye showcasing her irritancy. "What do you want?"

He stood there for a second before dropping his act with a sigh. "Okay, okay," he swallowed, "...I kinda need a bit of... _cash_."

"Why do you need-" Amy paused as an assumption built in her head, "You're not planning something _stupid_ , are you?"'

"No, no, no!" Sonic came quick to object the idea, "It's... Well..."

"...Well what?"

The blue hedgehog cleared his throat as he brought his hand up to the back of his head. "It's a... surprise?"

A hesitant response only meant something to Amy. "No."

"But Amy-!"

"I said no!"

"Why not?!" Sonic complained.

"Because," Amy stood up and pressed her hands against the counter desk, her lips curling in distaste, "Last time, the _surprise_ was my kitchen covered up in flour. For goodness sake Sonic, I couldn't even see the floor!"

"Okay, fair enough but that was only one time!"

She scoffed. "Let's not forget the fire you caused because you couldn't even be bothered to _check_ the muffins!"

"Tails needed me though!"

"And the time you broke our cooker because you couldn't find the switch and decided a freaking spin dash would solve it!"

"That was purely not my-!"

"No means no!"

"Amy!" he whined.

"Sonic, I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than to see my kitchen destroyed by you!"

"But then you wouldn't be able to see my own charming set of eyes..." Sonic stated, then grinning nervously with his hands up in surrender when he saw death radiating from his girlfriend.

" _Sonic..._ " Amy seethed.

"All right, fine!" the male gave up and backed off, not wanting to anger the young woman further, "I... I won't make anything..."

"Good!" she chirped and walked over to turn him around. She began pushing him out of the store, "Now go back to work!"'

"At least give me a kiss!" Sonic stopped and turned around, leaning down slightly so she could.

Amy rolled her eyes, biting the corner of her lip. Thank Chaos her boss was out of town. She leaned up to leave a kiss on his cheek instead, ignoring the light pout her boyfriend was giving her. "That's all you're getting since you rudely interrupted me from my work!"

"So mean!" Sonic grumbled as he walked out.

She rubbed her temple and greeted the next few customers at the door. "Hello! How may I help you?"

...

Amy locked up for the night, her watch reading a vivid 7:30pm. She walked down the plaza until she stopped in front of the coffee shop. She blinked when she saw Tikal coming out of the store and then turned the key against the lock. "Sonic left already?"

Tikal lifted her head up to the pink hedgehog. "Oh, hi!" she greeted her, "Yes, Sonic left a while ago. He said he wasn't feeling too well..."

Surely he would've texted her if that was the case.

"Oh..."

A black car pulled up in front of them, the window shields sliding down revealing Shadow. He looked towards Tikal. "You coming?"

The orange echidna nodded before glancing at Amy. "Do you need a lift?"

Amy considered giving Sonic a call and ask him _what the hell he was up to this time_ and to come pick her up. However, she pushed down the thought. It was too cold to wait outside for him. "Sure," she looked to Shadow, "I hope you don't mind?"

Shadow shook his head. "No problem, hop in."

...

Amy waved a goodbye at the couple as she rushed up the steps to the house. The lights were on, so that probably meant-

Wait.

The kitchen lights were on.

She groaned. _Oh no._

She scurried out her keys from her bag and unlocked the door, shutting it behind her as she dropped her things and slid into the kitchen. "Sonic?" Amy saw the blue hedgehog's back as his arms moved quickly.

Sonic turned around with his hands behind him, a beaming set of eyes shooting towards her. "Hey babe!"

Amy immediately turned suspicious, her eyes darting across the kitchen. It was clean but something felt... _off_. She settled her gaze onto him, crossing her arms. "Sick, are you?"

"Yeeeaaaah," he laughed nervously, a hand at the back of his quills, "Winter's coming so..."

Amy noted the spec of flour on his cheek and walked over to him to rub it off. Her lips thinned into a frown. "What did you make now?"

Sonic smiled and grabbed the tray to showcase it in front of her. "Cupcakes!"

"Cupcakes?" Blinking, the young woman gazed down at them. They were chocolate cupcakes, each with a blue and pink swirl on top. While they were a little messy and a little overcooked, Amy couldn't help but feel like her partner officially accomplished something.

"Here," he took one out of the tray and pressed it against her lips, "Try it!"'

Amy took a small bite and chewed on it thoughtfully. A burst of chocolate and the icing filled her mouth. "I... I like it!" she said and swallowed it down, "But where did you get the ingredients?"

The male scratched the back of his head and only said one thing, "Tails."

The pink hedgehog rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. "They're really good!" she giggled and took another bite, "I'm proud of you!"

"Phew!" Sonic wiped his forehead and set the tray back down, "I worked hard, ya know! For all those times I messed up... I wanted to make it up to you! So I followed this recipe on the internet and _voila!_ "

"Aww," Amy leaned over to pinch his cheek before leaving a kiss, "You're cute."

A tint of red dusted against his skin as he grinned. "Thanks..."

Amy muffled a giggle again and set down the cake. "How about we enjoy these with a drink?" she asked, walking towards the storage, "What would you like? Orange or-"

The young woman was cut off and squealed when Sonic zoomed past her and blocked her from opening it.

She stood still, dumbfounded.

"Before that, how about I run you a nice bath, Ames?" Sonic placed his hands onto her shoulder and pivoted the female out the kitchen and up the stairs, "After all, you've gotta be tired and stressed out from those kids! Release that stress from your muscles, you'll feel muuuuuch better!"

Amy didn't say anything. Rather, she couldn't because he kept interrupting her with ridiculous compliments and asking how her day had been. "You get in and I'll set a pair of fresh clothes for you at the side!"

Sonic walked into the bathroom and ran the water for her. He laughed, albeit anxiously, as he made his way down the steps. "Lemme just do something real quick and I'll be back!"

After he disappeared, it took a moment for Amy to finally heave out a sigh and bury her face against her hands.

When she dipped herself into the tub, the clutter of pots and pans echoed across the house.

"Oh, god dammit! I got flour all over my hair!" Sonic cried.

Amy closed her eyes and exhaled, a quick laugh escaping from her lips as she sank deeper into the bubbles. "Stupid hedgehog."


	7. Her everlasting barista

_007\. Her everlasting barista_

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.

.

"So, do you wanna go out somewhere tonight?"

Amy focused her attention onto Sonic as he sat down beside her on the table. He gave her one cup of her usual with his own around his hand. "Where?"

He shrugged and brought the cup to his lips. "Anywhere to celebrate the grades we got."

She thought for a second and shook her head, shrugging sheepishly. "I-I'm not good at these sorts of things as you are... so-" Amy paused when she saw the male's bewilderment, "What?"

Sonic crossed his arms with an amused smirk. "After taking a peak at your fan fiction last night, I'm surprised you aren't."

It took a moment for Amy to process that before she felt the heat that threatened to show itself flared upon her face. "H-How- _How do you know about that?!_ " she stammered with demand.

"You left your laptop open before you slept," he answered simply as if it wasn't the biggest deal in the world _but it was_ , "I like James. Midnight blue quills and he has the most _gorgeous emerald green eyes_!" Sonic quoted as he pretended to be in thought, "Wonder who inspired you to create him, hmm...?"

"Sonic!" Amy squeaked and angrily flung a piece of her bagel at him, "I hate you! Y-You weren't suppose to see that!"

"Wha- Hey!" he dodged the piece but laughed anyway, "No throwing food! And it's not my fault that it was left open for me to see easily. You should really put a password lock on there or something!"

"Th-That's not the point!" the pink hedgehog countered, "Everything that was on there... I-It's embarrassing!"'

"It's not!" Sonic said and held her hands, "It's not embarrassing, Ames. In fact, I'm flattered I've made an impact on you that it's gotten you to write about our relationship!" he shot her a supportive grin, "It's cute!"

Amy frowned and crossed her arms.

The barista's look dropped as he scratched the back of his head. "Aw, Amy. I'm sorry... I didn't think it was that personal."

"No stupid," she shoved him lightly, "I can't believe you said they weren't embarrassing! ...My writing's horrible."

"Gah, you think everything's horrible," Sonic waved off, "You said you did horrible in your history exam but got a straight A. Then you said you couldn't draw, like, excuse me?! That canvas deserves to be in a _museum_!" he suddenly smirked and leaned closer to her face as his eyes gleamed, "...Then you said you looked horrible in that beautiful blue dress you wore yesterday, but _damn_ did you look tempting."

Amy turned redder than she had previously been and smacked his shoulder. "S-Sonic!" she huffed but couldn't help to bashfully smile a little at his comment, "You're so mean..."

Sonic let out a chuckle, pulling away and rubbed his thumbs against her knuckles. "You're the meaner one. The fact that you didn't let me take you back to my place after seeing you like that... I wanted you all to myself! You had no right to tease me, Ames!"

Honestly, the blue hedgehog was such a _child_ sometimes. She was happy that the coffee house was empty since he was the one that had to close up, a little earlier than usual since it was a holiday tomorrow. If anybody heard their current conversation, she wouldn't know how to explain herself.

"How can you be so cute and charming one second but needy and perverted the next?" she complained.

"I'm not perverted!" he shot back with full defence, "...I just appreciate your beautiful body..."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Suuure."

"I doooo," the blue barista mimicked her and leaned in again to steal a sweet kiss. She bit the side of her lip to refrain herself from showcasing her fluster but he only pecked her lips again when he noticed the stubborn reluctance.

Amy finally broke out a giggle when he kept swarming her with kisses. "S-Stop! That tickles!"

Sonic shared her laughter with his own and curled his lips. "Stop talking down on yourself and your work," he said, his tone gently changing as he caressed the side of her face, "You're amazing, okay? Don't you ever doubt that, _stupid_."

She smiled, fiddling with her scarf. "Right... thanks."

He left a kiss on her forehead. "Mm, if you don't wanna go out tonight... then let's just hang out at my place? We can watch a movie and order pizza or something."

"You know, sometimes I forget that I have my own apartment because I've been hanging around yours for so long," Amy said, propping her cheek against her hand.

It was true. She barely stayed at her own place. Ever since she got with the barista, she'd been noticing a drastic change in her living location for the past year. The only time she'd stay there was if she was to have friends or family over or if Sonic was away for a couple of days. Or if Sonic was being _annoying_ , she'd go back and study alone much to his disappointment.

Sonic held his gaze onto her before focusing back onto his drink. "You know... I've been thinking that maybe..." he trailed off and glanced back at Amy to see she was steadily looking at him, waiting for him to finish. He cleared his throat, "We could move in together...?"

...Oh?

Wait.

 _Oh._

Amy's eyes slowly widened. "M-Move in together?"

"I-It's a big step!" the barista stammered all the same, "We've been together for a year and a half now... almost two. I know it's a little too early but-" He smiled once more when seeing her all lost for words, "I don't see myself with anyone else but you in the future."

Silence.

Did... _Did he just-?_

A dumbfounded pink hedgehog felt scorching heat against her skin. Her next words almost had him fall off his chair, "A-Are you proposing to me?!"

"No!" Sonic panicked and the colour of his face managed match hers as well, "I-I mean... I would want to in the near future but definitely _not now_... W-We've only just turned twenty one!"

His answer didn't help her as she just bit her lip. "S-So you're saying you would want to marry me... when the time comes?"

The blue hedgehog was on the spot now.

"Stop making it seem as if it's a crime, Ames!" the blue barista huffed, already embarrassed as it was for his slip up. The poor thing. "Y-Yes... I would want to be with you like that when we're ready..."

Amy cupped her hands around her drink and took a sip, hoping it would calm her down. Though, Sonic hadn't broke off his stare which made her realise he was actually being serious.

"U-Um..." she blundered but her mind went blank. Moving in with Sonic? It'd be a massive step into their relationship... and things would be a lot more easier. She could see him a lot more and... they could make each other dinner, help with studying for their final year before graduating. Even after graduating, living together would help maintain everything.

It wouldn't make much of a difference but at least the two didn't have to worry about running across to each other's buildings.

It also meant she wouldn't have to worry about paying the bills on her own.

But marriage? She had only ever fell in love with Sonic and... she could see them going further down the line as cheesy as it sounded. They've been intimate, despite her shyness and insecurties... so nothing would be a problem.

He was everything she wanted in a guy.

"It's okay, Amy," Sonic said, making her break off her thoughts. He shot her a soft grin and tucked some of her hair over her ear, "You don't have to say anything now. I'm just telling you so you know."

Amy didn't deserve him. He was so sweet. It intoxicated her.

 _In a good way._

"I..." she started and swallowed hard, "When can I start packing?"

She enjoyed his reaction. His nervous and unsure emerald eyes lit up and his signature radiant grin she grew to love plastered his lips beautifully.

"Anytime from now," Sonic clasped their hands together, "You're sure about this? I can still give you time-"

"I-I've already made my decision," she stammered, trying to keep her composure though failed when she began crying, "Stupid, o-of course I'll live with you!"

Sonic did the chore of wiping off her tears. "I swear, everything makes you cry nowadays," he teased, "But I'm happy."

Amy sniffed, staring into his eyes. She had nothing to say at his small jibe when something else occupied her mind. "Will you wait for me...?"

The barista tilted his head and then smirked at the implication. He grabbed her now half empty cup, scribbling something down with his marker and handed it back to her.

She blinked and peered down at it.

 _It takes two to get married, milady._

The pink hedgehog laughed through her tears and shoved the cup back to him as she buried herself into his chest.


	8. Sick

_008\. Sick_

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Amy closed up the library around eight o'clock that evening. She felt something drip against her head and she put her hand out to see that it was about to rain. Thankfully though, a sleek dark blue car pulled up in front of her just in time. Smiling, she descended down the steps in a hurry and got inside of the car.

"Hey!" Amy leaned over to kiss Sonic's cheek, "How was- what's wrong?"

The blue hedgehog sniffled and blinked over to her, his eyes all puffy and red. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Are you sick?" she asked, frowning before putting a hand over his forehead, "Oh my god, you're burning!"

Sonic grimaced and pulled her hand away. "I-I'm not sick!" However just as he said that, a violent cough slipped past his mouth causing him to wince, "Okay, maybe a _little_ sick... but I'm fine!"

Amy sighed, shaking her head. "Let me drive us back."

"I can drive!" he insisted but let out a sneeze before he could go on.

"Nope! You're definitely not okay to be touching the wheel right now," she got out a packet of tissues and handed him a few as he blew his nose. Sonic grudgingly got out of the car so she could sit in the driver's seat. She waited for him to get in and started to drive off.

When they stepped inside the penthouse, Amy set her things down and then watched Sonic taking off his suit coat and shoes before he was making his way to his office.

She stopped him though and took hold of his arm. "Hey, come on. Let's go take a shower? Then I'll make you some soup and get you into bed."

"Ames, I need to prepare an interview for a bunch of interns I'm having tomorrow," he shook his head and groaned lightly, "I need to..." Sonic trailed off as he sneezed again, "I gotta... work for that..."

"I'm sure you can call up Knuckles and Tails and they can fill in for you," Amy said and gently squeezed his arm, "Seriously Sonic, you're not well and you won't get well if you keep working," she pulled him along up the staircase, "We'll take a warm bath instead, how about that?"

He was too tired to argue and Amy smiled, taking that as a victory before leading him into the bathroom. As they were in the bathtub a few minutes later, she helped him wash his quills and laughed when Sonic kept whining about wanting to do it himself.

Amy prepared the food in the kitchen, which was some chicken noodle soup with rice on the side. She plated and put them on a tray before making her way into the living room.

"Sonic?" Amy put the tray down onto the table and held the bowl, sitting on the couch and watched Sonic opening his eyes briefly to look at her, "Here."

She held up a spoon full of the soup against his mouth. He winced as he sat up, opening his mouth and swallowed the soup. "Ugh, you know I hate soup..."

"I know but at least it'll make you feel better!" she said and gave him the bowl of rice, "Eat the rice, at least that's something your tastebuds won't hate when you're sick."

"I guess," he spoke with his mouth full of rice before gulping it down, "It takes away that horrible after taste from that soup."

"Are you judging my cooking, mister?"

"No ma'am," Sonic sighed, "I love your cooking Ames, but I'll never ever like soup. No matter who it's from."

Rolling her eyes, Amy just giggled and fed him another spoon of the soup. "That's fair. Would you like me to make you a chicken pot pie tomorrow for lunch then?"

"Mhm, that sounds muuuuch better compared to this," he then blinked and looked over to her, "Wait, for lunch? Don't you have work though?"

"I do but I can take a few days off so I can look after you," she said and sent him a knowing gaze, "Just so you don't wander off back into your office or at work."

Sonic sniffled and groaned a little. "I'm hurt that you don't trust me enough."

"Oh, I do! But when it comes to work, you're constantly on your feet!" Amy stifled out a laugh, "You may be the CEO of Hedgehog Holdings but you're my husband first, you dolt."

He grimaced. "Do you always have to call me a dolt every time you try to make me feel better?"

"Can't help it when you are one," Amy shrugged innocently and leaned over to rub their noses together, "My cute loveable dolt!"

"Stop," Sonic chuckled before letting out cough, "Argh, I really hate this..."

Amy gave him a glass of water. "I'll make you some green tea before we go to bed. That should help you sleep, okay?"

Yawning, he nodded. "Okay."

"Good! Make sure you remember to call up Tails and Knuckles to let them know you won't be in for the rest of the week."

The hedgehog rolled his eyes. "Yes mom."

She smiled and continued feeding him. After they both had eaten, they got ready for bed. Amy switched off the lights and tucked herself into the covers next to Sonic as he swallowed down the rest of his green tea. When he settled underneath the covers, Amy caressed his face and watched him slipping into a deep sleep. Soft breathing was heard later and she smiled, kissing his forehead before finally settling into some sleep herself.


	9. Reassurance

_009\. Reassurance_

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.

.

"Sonic," Amy said as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Yeah?" Sonic walked out from the bathroom, adjusting the cuffs from his shirt.

She smiled at him. "Can you help me pull up the zipper from the back please?"

Feeling Sonic walking up to her, Amy blushed when he took his time coasting his fingers down her spine while his lips teasingly pressed feathery kisses along the line of her shoulder. "You sure you wanna go now? It's a little early..."

"I'm sure," Amy rolled her eyes before laughing softly, "You're hosting it, aren't you? The least you could do is show up on time."

Sonic finally zipped up her dress and spun her around so that they could face each other. "You're no fun," he whined and pouted, "And besides, it's just a celebration party for our merger with Niyaga Enterprises."

She raised an eye. "That's a pretty big deal. Considering Mariko Niyaga has been trying to chase you down."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. I just hope I don't bump into her as much, otherwise I wouldn't be able to escape from the woman."

Amy's smile faltered a little. "Yeah..."

Sonic quickly noticed her sudden mood change and tightened his hold around her. "She hasn't been giving you any trouble lately, has she?"

Biting the corner of her bottom lip gently, she swayed her head slightly. "Just the typical passive aggressiveness and glares. It's all right though, I haven't spoken a word to her."

"Ames," the blue hedgehog sighed and leaned in so that their foreheads touched, "You gotta let me know whenever she bothers you. Tell you what, I'll have a word with her when we're there."

"Don't bother," Amy shook her head before muttering out, "If you do, I'm sure she'll find a way to get into your pants even then."

She pulled away from him, feeling upset all of a sudden and sat down on the edge of the bed. When she looked back up at Sonic, who was frowning at her, she sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry. She's just... not exactly the _nicest_ person you want to be looked down upon."

Sonic sat beside her and smiled. "So I'm guessing you _did_ try to talk to her."

Amy nodded sheepishly. "All I did was say hi because she kept staring at me. She gave me this dirty look and just walked off. So I'm just gonna confirm she literally hates me because I'm with you."

"You know, if she keeps doing that then I can easily replace her," he said and intertwined their hands together, "I technically own her company now and can get someone else to fill in her spot," Sonic kissed her knuckles, "You'll be wandering around the company building a lot when you're not in your work shift at the library. So you'd be bumping into her more times than you'd like which is something I don't want to happen if it means she'll harass you."

"That's sweet, Sonic," she blushed when he kissed her reassuringly, "But it's fine. If it ever gets too much, then I'll let you know."

"You promise?"

She nodded. "I promise."

Sonic held her gaze before grinning, gently pushing her down onto the bed so he was on top, trailing his hand up her upper thigh. "Then can we _please_ leave a little later?"

Amy giggled and stopped his lips with her finger. "I'm going to be wearing stilettos and I would like to be able to _walk_ in them throughout the party."

He rolled his eyes with a groan but leaned down to kiss her again before getting off her. "You so owe me," Sonic eyed down at her dress, "I swear to god, you're just gonna tempt me even more to drag you away from the party with that dress."

She blushed again and looked down at it. It wasn't much. Just a dark blue dress that reached her mid-thigh with the lace of it being wavy. She wanted it to match Sonic's colour because of the occasion. "Y-You like it?"

Sonic shot her another cheeky grin. "You look beautiful, Ames."

Smiling, she stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Okay, no more compliments like that until the end of the party."

He gave her a knowing gaze. "What? Did that rile you up a bit?"

Amy rolled her eyes, pecking his lips. "Come on, let's get going. We're going to be late!"

"Ames, you're really no fun!"

...

"I'd like to thank everyone to has helped us with this merger with Niyaga Enterprises," Sonic spoke through the mic at the front, "Myself and my fellow colleagues hope we can carry out deals a lot more smoother now that we have acquired them under our company," he looked over to the female standing next to him and put out his hand, "Niyaga-san, welcome aboard and thank you for your hard work."

Amy watched, clapping her hands happily along with the rest of the guests as Sonic and Mariko shook hands. She saw Mariko subtly trying to keep their hands locked together but Sonic managed to slip pass without causing suspicion amongst the public. Amy sighed and shook her head, going off to the food platter to nibble on some of the pizza rolls. She then smiled as she saw Sonic talking to Tails and Knuckles.

Then from the corner of her eye, she saw Mariko walking up to him again but this time Amy managed to lock her gaze with hers. Mariko slowed down and stared back at her, the glare already forming on her face. Amy decided to stay calm but was pleasantly surprised when the woman began walking to _her_ direction.

"Hello," Mariko greeted her bluntly.

Amy cleared her throat, feeling uncomfortable already. "Hi..."

One thing Amy had to admit, Mariko was absolutely beautiful. She was wearing green long dress that went down from one side of her leg to leave the other exposed. She wore silver heels and her hair was braided down neatly. Many men would always look at her with want in their eyes, even breaking their professionalism in the business to chat her up. If she wasn't such a problem to Amy, then maybe she could understand why they did.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

 _Really?_

"I'm here for Sonic," the pink hedgehog simply said and then added, "I came with him."

Something flashed in Mariko's eyes but it went a split second later, not that Amy was fooled though. "I see," the other woman looked down at her dress carefully, "I am assuming that was why Sonic was late."

Amy remained calm. "Sonic likes to waffle around a lot before getting ready," she answered and shrugged, "This dress was a bit of a chore to zip up correctly so he helped me."

If Mariko was annoyed, then she was very good at hiding it. At the very most, Amy noticed the woman's jaw clenching ever so slightly. "I see."

Sighing, Amy just decided that enough was enough because she was getting tired of it. "Look, if you're here to bother me about Sonic then don't. I'm sorry he isn't reciprocating your feelings for him but you need to deal with the fact that he's with me."

That sparked something in Mariko's expression. Finally. "I had my eyes set on him for years until _you_ suddenly decided to show up, with no background or knowledge of a running business like this," she took a bold step towards her, "It's embarrassing to see that you're only with him for the money."

Amy knew blowing her temper would just get a kick out of her but she was steadily becoming upset. Her chest became heavier, with her breathing quickening. However, she did manage to muster up a glare at her. "You don't know _anything_ about me."

"I would like to think I do."

"Well, you don't."

"Then tell me," Mariko provoked her again, "What does he see in you that I don't have?"

Amy stalled at the other woman's question all of a sudden.

Right. What _did_ he see in her, exactly? She never asked him that question before.

"Well for one thing, she's the most gorgeous woman I've ever laid my eyes upon."

The two women jumped and looked over to Sonic, who was the least most impressed at what he just heard. Amy blinked when he shot her a grin, walking closer to her and took her hand before kissing it. "She's also smart, intelligent and a bit feisty," he teased before glancing over to Mariko, "I bumped into her at the Starbucks she previously worked in and went there every morning just to see her before going into the office. Then I finally had the guts to ask her out for a dinner date and things pretty much kicked off from there," Sonic smiled again before settling a light hard stare at the grey hedgehog in front of them, "If you keep this up Mariko, then I'll have your brother replacing you. Shinji isn't the type of guy to cause silly problems like this and I think he'd be perfect for the job."

"He wouldn't be," Mariko seethed through her teeth.

"He would. At least he knows what personal space is."

Mariko suddenly looked flustered, not being able to come up with a response. Her lips thinned as she took a step back, bowing apologetically. "I apologise for my behaviour," she forced out before casting a look at Amy. She huffed lightly and walked off, stomping her heels louder than usual.

Sonic shook his head and turned back to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Amy breathed out, "I'm fine. Thank you."

"I'm sorry, Ames. Whatever she said, don't let it get to you. All right?"

She nodded, her lips curling into a smile as a blush made its way to her cheeks. "All right."

He smiled back at her and lead her further down in the ball room. Music started to play and so he wrapped his arms around her. Amy laughed and complied, her arms slithering around his neck.

"I meant what I said about replacing her," Sonic started off, "One more problem and she's out."

"You honestly don't have to do it," Amy said with a sigh, "I can handle her jabs."

"Stop lying. You looked like you were about to cry before I intervened," he said sternly, "Seriously Amy, if there's _anything_ more I don't want then it's for her to make you feel like this."

The pink hedgehog bit the corner of her lip. "It'll cause drama, Sonic..."

"So what if it does? She's not someone I would like to keep under my eye for too long. That'd be so stressful!"

She pouted. "So would dealing with the media about it!"

Sonic looked at her carefully and sighed again. "This is the part where I don't listen to you."

Amy pressed her lips together and buried her face against his chest. "You're so annoying sometimes."

She heard him chuckle and lift her chin up so that they could look at each other again. "I'm doing it for you. I don't care if Mariko is the world's most successful business woman in the Orient. It's my company and I can do whatever I want to make sure my employees and my girlfriend are safe from her comments."

"My knight and shining armour," she said dryly but still managed to giggle, rubbing their noses together, "But all right."

He grinned at her, sneaking a quick kiss on her lips before they continued to slow dance to the music. Later on, a few people did come up to Sonic and congratulate him as well as have a conversation with him. While Amy did want to leave him to it, Sonic held her hand throughout the whole thing as he spoke to his business partners. They even noticed her and gave her a respectful nod and greeting to which she responded back the same.

Mariko kept her space. While the woman would catch them from a distance, she also had people talking to her as well so she was heavily occupied answering questions and holding conversations. Thankfully. So Amy managed to relax herself throughout the rest of the party.

She shared a drink with Sonic as the two of them sat alone outside, the guests slowly leaving the ballroom as the party nearly came to a finish. Amy let out a small yawn, feeling tired already. Even though she had nothing to with Sonic's work, that still didn't stop people from crowding around her so that they could talk to her. It was... overwhelming. She didn't know how Sonic did it and how he was such a natural with it. It was when Tails came by her side and diverted them away somewhere else that Amy never felt more relieved and thanked the younger executive with a bright smile.

"I'm exhausted," Amy whined softly, leaning sideways against Sonic as she rested her head onto his shoulder, "Can we go home now?"

"You don't have to ask me twice," Sonic chuckled out as they stood up, "Can you walk?"

She lifted her arms up with a small pout. "Carry me."

He playfully rolled his eyes and picked her up, bridal style, "As you wish, _princess,_ " as Sonic began walking, he pressed his lips against her ear and teased, "Hope you're not too tired for the rest of the night."

Amy huffed, a heavy blush forming on her cheeks but stifled a giggle anyway as she kissed his cheek. "You're so annoying, Sonic..."

"Only for you, Ames."


	10. Confession

_010\. Confession_

.

.

.

"I like Amy."

Tails paused in tightening a bolt with his wrench and snapped his head over to him. "What?"

Sonic let out a deep breath, his palms suddenly becoming sweaty as he repeated more clearly, "I like Amy."

 _Silence._

Tails had blinked at him once, twice, _three times._ "You mean as in... you like _like_ Amy?"

"Yes," he said within a heartbeat.

"...Wow."

 _"I know."_

His best friend flew down from his tornado and dusted himself off. "So what are you gonna do?"

"That's the point, Tails! I don't know _what_ I'm gonna do!" Sonic exasperated, his arms flailing up in the air, "I woke up this morning and said to myself that I liked her a-and," the tiniest blush crept up on his cheeks before he vigorously shook his head, " _Oh my god..."_

A smile formed on Tails's face. "Was it when we were at Cream's birthday party?"

Sonic raised his eyes. "How'd you know?"

Tails shrugged unsurprisingly. "Amy looked really nice in that dress and every time I looked your way, you kept staring at her. I can't actually remember a time when you _wasn't_ either."

He let out an embarrassed sigh through his nostrils before running a hand down his face. "I'm not like this, Tails. Usually I'm cool and nonchalant about stuff like this but..."

Trailing off, Sonic groaned and sat back down onto the couch as he buried his head into his hands. "How am I even supposed to act around her now? I'm just gonna be a total mess!"

"Well, I'm no expert in romance but... why don't you just _ask_ her to go somewhere with you? You know, like a friendly outing and then slowly make yourself say it to her. It doesn't have to be today, you can take your time with it until you figure things out!"

Sonic thought for a second. "That's not a bad idea..."

"If you're still struggling, why don't you ask Knuckles for advice?" Tails suggested, "I mean, _he is_ with Rouge after all and those two are like nuts and bolts."

"Gah, no! Knuckles would just laugh in my face about it and I think he'd be the last person I'd want to ask."

"You gotta start giving Knuckles a little more credit," Tails muttered underneath his breath before sighing, "Okay, what about Silver?"

"Silver's just as clueless. You would think he'd finally notice Blaze's feelings for him but noo..."

"Cream? She's close with Amy and might give you some tips."

"True but she's way too young to know about these sorts of things yet."

"Then Shadow?"

"He's my arch- _nemesis!_ " Sonic said and stared at the fox as if he had finally gone insane, "What makes you think Shadow would know anything?"

"Gee, I dunno," Tails scratched the back of his head, "No one expected him to end up with Tikal and she wouldn't hurt a single dime. There had to be some way he wooed her."

"Okay, wooing and Shadow do _not_ fit in the same sentence," he corrected him and groaned again, "Do I really have to go ask him?"

"It's worth a shot! And I don't think he'll judge you for it either. Maybe talk to Tikal about it as well! It's been pretty obvious to all of us that you felt this way towards Amy, ya know. We're all older now and it'd be nice if you actually settled with someone, Sonic."

Another blush threatened Sonic's cheeks before he quickly looked away and stood up. "Fiiine," he trudged his way out of the garage, "Thanks buddy."

"Noo problem. Good luck!"

...

"I don't know what to tell you."

Sonic ran all the way to Shadow and Tikal's house just to hear the black hedgehog say that.

"Why am I not surprised?" Sonic said, more to himself than at Shadow.

The two of them were currently in the living room, the small distant sounds of the TV playing in the background. He was surprised that Shadow even let him inside in the first place. He was usually a private person after all. Maybe Tikal _was_ changing him...

He upright told him that he had feelings for Amy and he wasn't even the least bit shocked. _Was it that obvious this whole time?_

"I think it's cute," Sonic turned to the sound of Tikal's voice as she set a tray down with three mugs full of hot chocolate. She smiled and handed him his mug, "Here, I gave you some marshmallows on top."

"Thanks Tikal," he sheepishly grinned back at her and took a sip.

"It's all right," she laughed out as she sat next down to Shadow, "Do you know how you're going to tell her?"

"Nope," the blue hedgehog sighed longingly, "Tails suggested I'd come here to ask you guys about how I should since... you know," he shrugged awkwardly, "You guys were pretty unexpected..."

"It's fine," Tikal reassured him with another smile, "Are you trying to ask how Shadow asked me?"

Sonic just nodded.

Shadow looked away with a small huff. "It wasn't much. I just got to know her more and took her out to dinner. That's it."

Tikal shook her head. "Oh, there was much more than that!" she giggled when the black hedgehog groaned quietly, "He brought me flowers and took me on a run. It was the first time I've ever felt how fast you guys really go!" her face then softened, "We stopped near the beach and I hadn't seen one in years. The ocean was really beautiful and it was just turning into night time so the moon was just going down," Tikal gently nudged Shadow's arm, "He was nervous, I could tell he was. But it was sweet when he finally told me."

"Could've been done better though..." Shadow muttered, the smallest tint of red brushing past his cheeks, "I didn't want to be cheesy with it..."

"It's okay! The fact you worked so hard to tell me was all that mattered to me, Shadow."

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course I do."

Sonic looked back and forth between the couple's quiet exchange. Shadow was the grumpiest person he had ever met but... it was nice and different to see he was actually happy with someone after keeping his distant for so long. The way he looked at Tikal proved that.

"I don't think you have to do much, Sonic," Tikal said to him, "Try not to stress about it and you'll be fine."

"Really?" he suddenly doubted his efforts, "What if-"

"Just be yourself," Shadow interjected and crossed his arms, "I don't think she would want you to be any other way."

Tikal nodded. "Do you have any ideas on where to take her or what to do?"

"You mean like what to do on a date?" Sonic thought for a minute and shrugged, "No, not really..."

"How about a picnic? Amy loves doing those!" the orange echidna stood up and made her way over to the kitchen, "I can pack something up for you if you want?"

"You would do that?" Sonic beamed, "That'd be swell, Tikal. Thank you!" When Tikal wasn't within an earshot, he looked back at Shadow with a small smirk, "Seriously, how'd you do it?"

Shadow shrugged. "Pure luck, I guess."

"Oh thank Chaos, so you didn't _woo_ her!"

"...Wooing?"

"Exactly."

...

Sonic straightened himself up, basket in hand as he walked in front of Amy's door. He raised up his fist, ready to knock on her door until he suddenly stopped himself and closed his eyes.

 _Focus, Sonic. Just focus. It's just Amy. Why the hell are you so nervous for?! Come on!_

After taking another deep breath, he decided to ring her doorbell instead and waited patiently. He heard thumping a moment later, making his heart accelerate.

"Just a moment!" Amy's voice sounded.

The padlock sounded and the door swung open.

"Hey Cream, sorry about-"

She stalled in her words when her eyes met Sonic's instead.

Sonic's feet were pinned against the floor, his body growing rigid and he wasn't sure if he was breathing at that point.

 _Holy moly..._

All Amy had on was a towel wrapped around herself. Her hair was loose from that headband she'd always wear, her quills wavy and going down her shoulders.

He couldn't remember the last time he saw her with her hair out like that.

And he couldn't believe that he was ogling right now, never leaving his eyes off her. Even though he could feel himself turning red hot around his face. He was feeling absolutely _shameless._

Amy gasped and slammed the door shut right in his face. "S-Sonic?! _What are you doing here?!"_

Sonic stood still for a few more seconds before vigorously shaking his head. "Uh! I-I was just coming to visit you," he gulped, still trying to get rid of the picture of Amy out of his head because he was _not_ a pervert, "Ya know... s-see if you were doing okay and stuff..."

 _Really, Sonic? Really? Here you are with a picnic basket in hand and you say **that?**_

When Amy didn't say anything, he cleared his throat. "Actually, I was uh... wondering if you wanted to have lunch with me? It's a nice day outside and I have plenty of food to share."

Bless Tikal for making chilli dogs and chicken salad sandwiches.

Amy still stayed quiet at the other side and Sonic became worried. "A-Ames?"

Her voice was muffled but he was still able to hear her as he closed in on the door. "L-Let me get dressed," she said, her voice unusually high pitched, "...Would you like to come inside though?"

"Sure..." Sonic scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Do you... want me to wait until you're upstairs?"

"Yes please," she begged.

When she unlocked the door, he heard her footsteps going upstairs. He waited for a few more seconds, _just to be sure_ , before finally letting himself in. Sonic sat down on the couch inside her living room and waited patiently, anxiously bouncing his leg up and down.

He sighed into his hands. Great. A minute in and things were already awkward. He caught an almost naked Amy under his eyes and on top of that, he still didn't what to say to her or how to even say that he really had feelings for her.

He had to laugh a little at himself though. A few years ago, she was the was chasing after him. Now _he_ was the one chasing after _her._

It was surprising but Sonic should've known that they were all growing up. Meaning, Amy's chasing toned down until she never did it anymore and moved on. He didn't realise he missed her doing it until she actually distracted herself by doing other things. Helping them stop Doctor Eggman, throwing parties, going into college. Yes, Amy Rose decided to go to that _hell_ of a thing called _college_ where she had to learn boring stuff and get an education. Sonic didn't even know why she wanted to study in the first place. She was smart enough as it is! Even so, she also ran her own café with Cream and her mom. So it was safe to say Amy was just too busy to think about him. _About him._

And they wouldn't even see each other all that much anymore.

He'd sulk about it with Tails when he realised that it actually affected him more than he let on.

That was why he began developing these feelings for her. Sonic realised how much he missed her venting, her cooking, her whacking him in the head if he let loose his ego too much.

He was stupid, he knew that. But... this was his _chance_ to _prove_ to Amy that she deserved him just as much as he deserved her.

Also, he still couldn't _believe_ Knuckles and Shadow had beaten him to it when it came to swooping their ladies off of their feet! That told him great words as to how much of a moron he was to let Amy go for so long to have _those two_ get the last laugh.

"...You okay?"

Sonic started and snapped his head up. "Huh?! Wha-?!"

Amy stood from a distance, raising an eye at him. "You spaced off. You're not catching a cold, are you?"

He blinked at her before quickly shaking his head. "N-No! I was just uh... thinking."

She didn't seem to buy his reasoning but shrugged it off anyway before smiling. "You said something about lunch?"

"Oh, right!" Sonic stood up with the basket, "You wanna go and have a picnic together at the park?"

"Oh sure, of course!" Amy grabbed a small bag and her keys before asking distractedly, "How comes you didn't bring Tails along?"

"What do you mean?"

She looked up and blinked at him this time. "We're just going on a picnic, right? I thought Tails and the others would be joining us."

Sonic kept his gaze on her, his mouth dropping the slightest. _Was... Was she not getting the hint?_ "N-No..." he cleared his throat, feeling a tad bit of hurt in his chest, "No, it's just gonna be us."

At that, Amy's eyes widened in complete and utter surprise. Her cheeks bloomed a violent shade of red and she was blinking a few times as if trying to register what he had just said.

He actually felt his stomach churning shamefully at the reaction. Amy looked at him as if he had suddenly grew three heads.

His stomach most definitely dropped when her surprise turned into anger. "Are... _Are you playing some sort of prank on me?!_ " Amy accused him out of nowhere, her voice rising the next second.

Sonic dropped the basket in panic as his own eyes flew open. "I'm not! Ames, you know I wouldn't do that-"

"You used to do it before!" she didn't back down and Sonic didn't miss the crack in her voice this time, "You always did it! Promising me that we'd go out together, promising me that we would go out at least on _one date_ together... but you would never _ever_ show up!"

Averting his gaze down onto the pink coloured rug, Sonic ran a hand down his face in a brisk attempt to hide his shame. This wasn't how he envisioned today would go. "You're right, that's true but-"

"But what?!" Amy took a bold step forward towards him and he swore he could see tears brimming underneath her eyes, "There's no buts, Sonic. Because not once did you say you were sorry!"

"Ames-"

"Then you would carry on the day like nothing happened, forgetting about me!"

"I know-"

"Then I was like, _'You know what? Maybe falling in love with **the** Sonic the Hedgehog isn't worth my time and energy'_ because you only just broke my heart over and over again!"

"But you see-"

"Shut up, Sonic! Don't try and give me false hope ever again because I'm not falling for-"

 **"I LIKE YOU!"**

Sonic was breathless. All the pent up feelings and frustrations he hid for the past few months were finally loose. The plan was to never confess like that, _at all._ However, hearing Amy yelling at him with his faults, that he admittedly regret doing, were too embarrassing and shameful to hear. He was never the one to feel like that. Maybe because he hid it so well in order to keep his pride as a hero.

But right now, all of that can be thrown away for this pink hedgehog right in front of him.

Amy yelped and jolted away from him, startled by his yell that had dominated her own. She stared up at him again and Sonic only stared back at her, gnawing on his lip before he sighed.

"Amy..." The blue hedgehog felt his cheeks rushing with warmth this time but he didn't try to hide it, "I know. I know I gave you empty promises. I know I was an absolute _idiot_ for leaving you in the dust," he glanced away and scratched his temple, "When you suddenly stopped trying to see me, I didn't think much of it until Tails brought it up one day that you were moving on. I didn't believe it until he told me that you were off to college," he laughed a little bit when he gazed back at her, "I kept thinking for some reason you were sick because you weren't there when we would face off against Egghead. But..." Sonic sighed again and groaned quietly, "I dunno... I guess I just started to miss you and when I would finally see you again I'd have this warm... _feeling-"_

Sonic stopped himself right there and then. Why was he dragging this? He was no corny hedgehog! _Just get on with it!_

He was about to continue when the sounds of Amy's stifling giggling filled his ears.

The speedster was confused and shot his orbs down at her, completely feeling offguard. What was so funny? Was there something on his face? Oh god, Amy wasn't laughing at a chilli dog stain that was left against his mouth, was she? He was sure he wiped that off before he came here!

He waited until she finished her giggling fit, but inwardly pouted when she was only refraining herself. "A-Anyway, yeah. I had this weird feeling in my-" When Amy started giggling again, Sonic couldn't help but whine, "Amy! I'm tryna be insightful here!"

"Y-You don't need to be," she breathed out and wiped off some of her tears with her sleeves, "You're trying too hard. It doesn't suit you... and you look goofy."

"G-Goofy?!" Sonic felt a harsh stab against his chest, "How am I goofy?! I'm _never_ goofy!"

"It makes you look cute though!" Amy softly pinched his cheek.

He rolled his eyes and pouted again. "Here I am trying to be sincere to say how sorry I am and you're just laughing-"

The pink hedgehog leaned up at towards him and left a sweet kiss against his cheek before pulling back with a shy smile. "You're forgiven."

Sonic's body turned to stone at the intimate gesture as he tried to find his voice. "...W-What?"

Amy's smile widened and playfully pushed his shoulder. "You're forgiven... And I like you too."

His heart raced faster than he would've liked. "W-Wait! So you're saying... _yes_ to the picnic?"

She rolled her eyes and whacked him across the head. "You're such a dolt, you know that?!"

"Ow!" Sonic held his head and sulked at her, "You didn't have to do that, ya know! Geez, have you grown stronger or something? That hurt!"

Smirking at him, Amy crossed her arms. "You really don't think I was just making coffee and sitting in my classes without doing some training, did you?"

A flash of admiration went across his eyes whilst he grinned back at her. "No, I didn't think so."

Her expression brightened and she took his hand, intertwining their fingers together then pulling him along. She grabbed the basket and lead him towards the kitchen. "Come on, let's heat this stuff up. They've probably gone cold by now."

"Amy," he stopped her and whirled her around so she could face him. She squeaked and blushed up at him at how close they were now. Sonic only smiled but his green irises turned serious, "I meant what I said. I'm sorry and I want to make it up to you. I _never_ want to hurt you like that ever again."

She held a pleasant expression. "I know, it's okay. Thank you."

Sonic pulled off his signature smirk. "And, I like you. I like _like_ you a lot. I'm sorry I made you wait for so long."

Amy laughed. "And they call _you_ the fastest thing alive."

"Yeah," he chuckled bashfully, "When it comes to things like this, I'm definitely not."

"It's better late than never," she shrugged and poked his nose, "Also, why does your breath smell like chilli dogs?"

His cheeks reddened and he quickly blew into his hand. "You can smell that?!"

"Oh, never mind," Amy shook her head and began preparing the food, "You know, I think I might need to have you cut down on those things. Your diet is probably outrageous!"

"Ames, no! You leave the chilli dogs _outta_ this!"


	11. Tip

_011\. Tip_

.

.

.

Amy ushered her way past the crowds of people. Her friends invited her out to a party on a Friday night. She was hesitant at first, her studies always becoming a priority over anything but they managed to pull her out of her apartment saying she _'needed to let loose for a while'_. She was enjoying it, taking a sip of her cocktail at the bar stand until her date with the guy her friends set her up with ditched her for another person. Surprisingly, she wasn't so upset. Amy tried her best to make a conversation with him but he didn't seem interested in her at all.

She would've left a long time ago... _if some other guy hadn't been trying to hit her up._

She politely declined giving him her number, seeing how drunk he looked but he still wouldn't budge. He followed her around the party as she frantically tried to go to an area where he wouldn't find her. Her final destination was to the female bathroom where she got out her phone to get an Uber ride home.

The guy followed her and had been waiting outside the bathroom, his words slurring, "Come ooon, babe! Once dance together and then we can have some fun later."

Amy grimaced, not wanting to know what type of _fun_ he meant.

So when her Uber texted her that they had arrived, she quickly rushed out of the bathroom without a second glance.

She made it outside and spotted the familiar black car that was shown on the app. The pink hedgehog took one step but the grey fox that didn't want to leave her alone grabbed her arm.

A sinister smile came up to his lips. "Running away, huh?"

Amy only glared at him and slapped his hand down. "Don't touch me."

"So you're a feisty one," his arms slithered around her waist, "I like that in a female."

"I said don't touch me!" Amy pushed him away and stomped on his foot with her heel.

He snapped a glare at her and pushed out his hands. "You bi-"

"Babe!"

Amy jumped, turning her head around as she saw a handsome blue hedgehog walking up to her and then stood between the both of them. Dumbfounded, she continued to stare at him until he spoke again.

"You were taking a while so I thought something happened," he said and then looked at her, suddenly pinning his gaze onto her own. It was then she realised that he was her ride home. He must've witnessed all the commotion and was telling her to play along. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah..." Amy felt her cheeks growing hot as she nodded awkwardly, "I am."

He smiled at her and then set his eyes over to the drunken fox. "Hey man, I would really appreciate it if you remember to lay off next time."

The fox seemed to have registered what was going on and quickly grew embarrassed. "R-Right... sorry."

Once he scurried off back inside the party, the stranger paid his attention back to her. "Sorry for making you do that. I saw he wouldn't take no for an answer from you and wanted to help out."

She blinked at him, her face becoming warmer when she found herself ogling. "No... it's all right. Th-Thank you."

He shot her a dazzling grin. "Come on, let's get you home. You must be freezing!"

Once they got into his car, Amy looked down at her phone to see his profile before casting a sheepish gaze his way. "Sonic...?"

He took his eyes off the road for a second and greeted her kindly. "Hi Amy, it's nice to meet you."

"You too..." He was very forward... and _very cute._ She eyed at his ratings and they were all five stars. Though, a lot of them probably weren't _just_ because of his good service. He must've been a favourite amongst most females... not that she could blame them at all. "Thank you again," Amy smiled at him, "If you hadn't been there, I would've probably given him a broken nose."

Sonic snorted out a laugh. "You really did stick up for yourself though so I wouldn't be surprised if you did."

Amy gnawed her teeth against the corner of her lip as she stifled out a laugh as well. "I wouldn't give someone like him the upper hand!"

"Why was he even following you, anyway?"

She shrugged and leaned back against her seat with a sigh. "You know the typical asking for my number type of thing. I'd blame it on the alcohol but he was really persistent."

The blue hedgehog hummed, his eyes on the road. "So I'm guessing that really wasn't your ideal Friday night out?"

"I don't even know why I bothered," Amy shook her head, "I should've known weirdos like him would be there. Plus, I don't think my date could stand another boring second with me."

"You got ditched?"

"Pretty much."

Sonic blew out a whistle underneath his breath. "That's low. Sorry about the break up."

She flinched and shot him a flustered look. "H-He wasn't my boyfriend! It was supposed to be a blind date...!"

He stopped at the red light and blinked over to her at the sudden outburst. Amy stiffened when their eyes locked and she wanted to slap her hand over her mouth for how loud she sounded. But a second later, she noticed the small bemusement that held in his look before a chuckle past his lips. She sat there, confused... and a little embarrassed that she was already opening up about her single life to him.

 _That's your chance gone down the drain, Amy. He probably thinks you're crazy..._

 _No! What am I thinking? He's literally a stranger... a really cute stranger._

She internally groaned and looked away until she heard him speaking again.

"I see..." Sonic continued on driving, an unknown twitch coming up to his lips, "Well... even so, it's a shame he left such a beautiful woman out in the open like that."

Amy held in her breath... heart pounding against her chest as if her lungs were about rip out of her body any second from now.

Did... _Did he just...?_

The blue hedgehog noticed her reaction and seemed satisfied, casually shrugging. "His loss though."

The rest of the ride back home was quiet and for once, Amy was happy that it was. Her thoughts were completely bottled up and she just didn't know what to _think._

 _Oh my god._ She must look like a complete idiot right now.

She'd take a few glimpses at Sonic and sometimes he'd catch her doing so, eyeing her at the corner of his eye. She would quickly look away, but not after hearing his stifling chuckles at her behaviour.

Sonic pulled over next to her apartment complex and Amy eagerly unbuckled her seat belt. "Thank you," she said and fished for some cash inside her purse. "L-Let me just tip you."

"No need."

Amy shot her head up at him. "Huh?"

"You have my number, right?" Sonic plastered his intoxicating grin against his lips as he leaned in closer to her, "Tip me by having dinner with me tomorrow night."

"W-What?!" A squeak escaped from her mouth and she frantically leaned back, her face heating up, "Are you serious?"

"One hundred percent," he smiled and swept his gaze up and down at her with interest, "That's if you're free, of course."

Her studies could wait. _Her studies could definitely wait!_ "Y-Yes, I am!" Amy cringed at how desperate she sounded and cleared her throat, "I'm free..."

He stared at her closely before laughing, pulling away. "Great, I'll pick you up at seven," Sonic gave her a wink, "Black looks good on you but I'm sure red will look even better, Ames."

He was complimenting her dress. Amy looked down at it and then back up at him with a bashful smile. "N-Noted, thank you."

She was about to get out of the car until she felt him take hold of her hand. Sonic kissed it along her finger tips, his eyes never leaving hers. "Just so you know, I don't ditch my plans."

Amy couldn't help but break out another smile. "You really do know how to charm a woman, don't you?"

Smirking, Sonic said confidently, "It's what I do best."


End file.
